


Behind Blue Eyes

by Ookima



Series: To Be Loved [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blow Jobs, Comfort/Angst, Dark moments, Emotional Roller Coaster, Established Relationship, Flavored Lube, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Non-Consensual Touching, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:08:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28810131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ookima/pseuds/Ookima
Summary: They have always been ups and downs in their relationship in the past 5 years, but this time, something dark seems to be taking over and Sasuke was slowly losing Naruto. If only he knew why the blond was gradually pulling away from him. (AU modern).This story will have its angst, relationship issues, and some dark moments which will be noted in the Author's Notes section.Updates will be every two weeks.
Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: To Be Loved [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187078
Comments: 63
Kudos: 57
Collections: Foxy fox 🦊, The Best Slow Burns





	1. Blindsided

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dhampire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dhampire/gifts).



> This is my very first AU fanfiction and it’s a slow burn. Crossing my fingers that you all enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it. 
> 
> This idea popped into my head back in August and it just didn’t want to go away since we ended up in lockdown! So I decided to risk it and write the story! It’s also based a lot on my own experience, a way to cope with my current depression and what happened to me more than two decades ago.
> 
> Special MEGA thanks to Dhampir (Dhampire) for accepting to be my muse/beta and motivating me to write this story and publish it. Your attention to detail really helps to move the plot along and write even more chapters and stories! It is more appreciated than you can believe! ^_^
> 
> _Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it._

Naruto’s tanned hand carefully traced with his fingertips the marks he had left on Sasuke’s pale skinned back during their night of lovemaking. Naruto couldn’t really admire Sasuke’s face since it was in most part covered by his long black bangs and well pressed against the pillow. Naruto leaned in closer, his blond locks of hair partially obscuring his vision and covering those thin whisker marks on his cheeks, taking in the smell of his lover one last time before leaving their bed.

Naruto carefully slid out from under the sheets, not wanting to wake Sasuke up from what seemed to be much needed sleep. They had barely seen each other in the past month due to Sasuke’s hectic work schedule and excessive hours. Apparently last night, Sasuke had reached his limit because the moment he came back from the office he didn’t waste any time to pin him roughly against the wall and Naruto was more than happy to comply.

Finally locating his orange pants and white t-shirt on the floor, he slipped them on and left their bedroom.

On nights like these, he always retreated to his in-home office. He did some of his best work smack in the middle of the night after all. He took out his drawing pad, flipping through the first few pages of content already in place before settling down on the next image frame. Despite having top-notch computer system, he always liked the feeling of paper and pencils in his hands.

When they had purchased the house together 3 years ago at the young age of 20, they made sure it had three bedrooms and a small office space. Since Sasuke’s job required him to work long hours and even from home during the weekends, he definitely needed his own office to work quietly and undisturbed. The same goes for him. Almost half of his own income came from being a freelancer as a Graphic’s Designer so an office was a must. It also helped that his other job allowed him to work from home when needed as well. Sasuke had been nice to offer him the third bedroom to change into his permanent office. He did need the space seeing as Gama Publishing kept him busy with numerous projects.

He settled the freshly brewed espresso on the table, inhaling the sweet aroma of coffee beans. How he loved that scent mixed in with cinnamon and honey, it was his little guilty pleasure to start the day. His right hand pulled out his top drawer where he kept his main drawing supplies, searching for an eraser. Instead, his fingers brushed up against a thick plastic. His eyes focused on the flat object he retrieved, a simple picture taken. A smile slowly graced his lips remembering the memory like it was only yesterday.

Who would have thought that that simple gesture would lead to him being in a relationship with Sasuke for 5 years now?

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_The first time Naruto and Sasuke crossed path was in their last year of College. They eventually got stuck together for a project that forced them to actually interact much to their despair. Although he was somewhat social, he hated the fact that his temporary teammate always had flocks of young women following him around like he was a God. Sure he was attractive with those piercing onyx eyes and semi-long black hair that stopped just above his shoulders. Still that wasn’t an excuse to always be bothered. It just made it that much more difficult to finish their assignment and the sooner it was done, the sooner they could go back to ignoring each other._

_They sat in the library, trying to finally get some work done, but kept being disturbed by those damn annoying women. Either they glance, smiled, squealed or asked him out on a date. Whatever the reason, it was annoying him again._

_“Maybe if you tried being clear to them you are not interested.” Naruto offered some advise. Since they had been paired up for this project, he always saw those young women not too far admiring, almost stalking the man._

_“What part of I am not interested so leave me alone is not clear?” Sasuke snapped back at the blond._

_“Maybe you can work with them hovering around, but I can’t. Text me when we can actually work on this damn project in peace.” He spat out, grabbing quickly his things and left the Uchiha sitting there. It’s not like he enjoyed doing schoolwork period, but the combination of having to work with the brooding bastard and fangirls made him question the worth of pursuing his diploma…_

_He looked over his shoulder one last time and chuckled at the scene. Funny how the moment he left the table, 3 girls immediately hovered around the brooding Uchiha. As he was leaving the library, he noticed the Gaara quietly sitting in the furthest corner possible of the room. The shorthaired redhead always sat in the same spot, again and again since people didn’t gather there._

_“What happened?” Gaara asked, glancing over to his brother._

_“Damn Uchiha has a fan club that won’t fucking leave us alone. It’s impossible to do any work!” He complained, rubbing his temple in annoyance._

_“Coffee then?” Gaara offered, closing the book he read._

_“Coffee.” The blond repeated happily._

* * *

_After their one-hour break at the coffee shop, Naruto and Gaara headed back to the library to pick up some books that the redhead needed. The blond couldn’t help but glance over at the tables where he had left Sasuke an hour earlier. He was half-surprised to see the boy still sitting there since he figured he would have left to get some peace and quiet. But he was still there; looking more and more annoyed at the attention the female population was giving him. Naruto tilted his head to the left, carefully taking in the scenery, a smile slowly crept on his lips._

_Gaara only paid attention since he saw the blond move out of his sight, but then he caught that mischievous smile. Something was definitely going to happen in the next few minutes._

_“Sorry ladies…” Naruto let out, as he carefully passed besides them before reaching Sasuke. In one quick move, he cupped Sasuke’s jawbone with his right hand, pulling him in as his lips pressed against his._

_Black eyes widened as the sudden contact. The boy barely had time to register what happened when all he heard were gasps around them. The softness he felt against his lips then vanished._

_“I-I’m sorry… W-we didn’t know!” One of the girls let out, seeing the scene in front of them. They quickly ran out of the library, face completely flustered._

_Sasuke snapped out of it and stood up quickly, tilting the chair enough for it to fall on the floor with a loud smacking sound. “What the hell usuratonkachi!?”_

_“You looked like you needed some saving, besides, this way you can maybe get some peace and quiet until they figure out we’re not together.” The blond licked his lower lip amusingly. “By the way, you’re welcome bastard.” The blond grinned happily and then walked back to his brother._

_If he had been looking back at his classmate, he would have seen the small smile that was forming on Sasuke’s lips._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

* * *

Naruto held the picture that showed him with Sasuke working on their project at the library. Gaara had taken the liberty to snap the moment perfectly where both boys weren’t at each other’s throats; they almost looked like normal students. Initially he wanted to annoy Naruto with it but it ended up as a nice reminder of the event that started it all.

He placed the photo back in its initial place, closing the drawer and returning his full attention to his drawing pad. He was working on his personal project, _“The tailed-beast tales”_ a series of books for children that were well received in the market. He was thankful that his chance encounter for a job at Gama Publishing ended up also helping publish his very first book of the series. _“Kurama, the Nine-tailed beast is born!”_

It was quite helpful when he and Sasuke only started working their real jobs in the world. Naruto’s bonus on the successful high sales of the first manga, and those to come, helped pay the bills while Sasuke concentrated on climbing the corporate ladder at Uchiha Corporate. Of course, the loner and thickheaded Uchiha Sasuke would never admit that he was happy to be taken care of temporarily.

He’d been working on creating the world where a total of 9 tailed-beasts lived, each searching for their own meaning of life and adventures. His favourite remained the character of the Nine-Tails Kurama. He always had a fascination for foxes since he was a little kid, but it was also a reminder of what his parents had left him before passing away...

He was currently working on the 3rd book that focused on Kurama and if things went smoothly, he’d be able to publish this one in the next few weeks. He intertwined his fingers together and stretched his arms outwards, gently moving them above his head. He settled into his chair, grabbing his espresso and was definitely ready to get to work.

* * *

Hours later, he was still crouched over his table, adding the final touches to Kurama’s shadow by rubbing his index finger against the residue of what the pencil left behind. He knew he shouldn’t put too much time since he had to draw them afterwards into the computer software, but still, he always kept the original drafts in his binders. Every detail was important, it always brought the pages alive and that’s what the kids loved about it.

Suddenly, he felt warms hands pressed on his shoulders; he couldn’t help but close his eyes from feeling his lover’s touch on his skin.

“Morning.”

“Up all night again?” Sasuke asked. It wasn’t unusual to happen now and then, but still, he always preferred waking up next to a tangle warm body rather than alone in bed. As much as it annoyed him initially, it grew on him over the years. He looked closer at the work the blond was doing. “Kurama?”

“Yup, this time he’s searching the forest for his friend Matatabi. It’s the two tailed beast who looks like a cat.” He shared. He always gave the shortest version possible, knowing that it didn’t hold much of Sasuke’s interest, but he appreciated the fact that his boyfriend still asked now and then about his work.

His chair was forcefully turned around; blue eyes stared into black ones. Sasuke gently grabbed the blond’s chin in an upward angle, pressing his lips against his lover’s. He then pulled back.

“Ready for tonight?” Naruto asked him. He knew tonight was his first big break as the Manager of Uchiha’s Technologies & Marketing Division.

“Hn.”

Naruto knew that despite the cool exterior, it was obvious that he was nervous about the celebration tonight. After all, even if Itachi would not be present at tonight’s celebration, he was sure to pass by the office to personally congratulate Sasuke on his hard work. Uchihas were never the best at showing much emotion, good or bad.

“I’ll cook us breakfast… ” He grinned. “ … with extra tomatoes.” Planting a quick kiss on Sasuke’s cheek, he made his way to the kitchen while Sasuke took a quick shower and got ready to leave for work in an hour.

* * *

Back at the Uchiha Technologies & Marketing Division, Sasuke finally settled at his desk after a painful morning of 3 meetings; 2 were potential clients and 1 was a current client. Luckily he didn’t suffer alone as his right-hand man, Hyuga Neji was also present. If only half of his potential clients knew what they were talking about, he’d waste less time into actually signing them or moving on to the next. Small companies had a tendency to send in their managers alone for the consult and leave their employees that actually understood the marketing jargon behind. So what could be a 15-minute conversation, turned into a 101-crash course and even then, he was often told to schedule a second meeting where the said employee would be present.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden smell and cup of freshly poured latté with a hint of cinnamon dust on top appeared in front of him. He raised his gaze to see the longhaired brunette standing in front of him. The young man always wore the same outfit everyday; white shirt, black tie and smooth pants. Sometimes he did have his black jacket but he only wore it when meeting clients.

“Figured we should at least end the morning on a positive note.” Neji sat opposite of his boss, his back barely touching the chair to not flatten his low ponytail since it went all the way to the middle of his back. His light white eyes settled back on Sasuke’s as he took a sip of his own latté, without cinnamon dust.

“Hn.” He carefully picked up his latté, inhaling the sweetness of it all before finally taking a taste. “How did you know about the cinnamon?” He was rather curious since nobody knew this except Naruto.

“When Naruto dropped by last time, he mentioned you enjoyed this type of flavour from time to time. Figured it was one of those times.” Neji smiled softly back.

“Thanks.” Sasuke wasn’t one for many words, but at this very moment, he definitely appreciated the gesture.

“What are your thoughts about this morning’s meetings?” Sasuke asked, flipping through his note pad for his notes of the morning.

“Probably the same as yours.” He started. ”First potential client, we definitely won’t hear from again, the second one, there’s a 50% chance he’ll actually call us back within the next 48 hours. He was clearly interested in our services, just unsure of some terminology we used. I expect him to bring his employee that speaks our language next time.”

“I figured as much.”

Their discussion was interrupted when they heard 3 knocks on his door followed by the door gently opening. A fairly tall and lean-built man with long jet-black hair partially tied up in the back, neck height, black eyes with just a hint of lines under them, dressed in a traditional black suit and tie with a crimson shirt beneath it.

“Good afternoon Uchiha-san.” Neji greeted him, standing up to face him without obstructing his own boss’s view.

“Good afternoon Hyuga-san.” Itachi greeted back. “Forgive me for interrupting but I need to speak with him.” He glanced over to his little brother.

“No trouble at all.” He looked over to his boss. “I’ll finish updating their profiles and keep you informed about the development of the last one.”

With that being said, Neji took his leave, carefully closing the door behind him for the brothers to have their privacy. Itachi made his way to the chair, sitting in it and slinging one leg above the other, eyeing his younger brother.

“Cinnamon? Clearly Naruto rubbed off on you little brother.” He let out a small smile. Uchihas were known to be cold bastards in all departments of life, but somehow his little brother had slowly warmed up when he met Naruto and strangely enough, even Itachi didn’t mind having him around in the end.

“Surely you didn’t come here to talk about Naruto _aniki_.” Sasuke let out, knowing all too well the reason for his brother’s visit.

“Nervous about tonight?”

Sasuke sat back, relaxing in his chair. “More like annoyed.”

“Ah, the downside of being a boss of your division.” Although their reputation in the industry was well known, neither of them possessed the joy of actually being in social events. But being a Uchiha, one must adjust and adjust they did.

“Hn.”

“Are you happy with this new partnership?”

“Honestly, it will be a great addition to our division and our own clients will benefit from this. The contract is also solid to protect Uchiha Division and Corporate in case of trouble. Shisui made sure of that.”

“I know, I read it.”

“I would have been surprised if you didn’t.” Sasuke chuckled. Yes they were brothers, but they were also in business together and he still had a lot of things to learn, which is why he wanted to start at the bottom and work his way up. Although their father initially disagreed with his choice, his older brother on the other hand fully supported him. There wasn’t any better way to learn the business in itachi’s opinion.

“Shisui is the best after all.” He paused, unfolding his legs. “I look forward to next month’s report then.”

“Try to have some fun tonight -” Itachi got up, making his way to exit the office. “- and Sasuke, I’m proud of you.”

That was all that needed to be said between brothers. That acknowledgement alone made Sasuke’s happier than anybody could truly understand. Praise was not something said so easily in their family after all.

“Thank you.” He couldn’t help but smile.

* * *

On days like these, Naruto could spend hours just drawing to his heart’s content, never really noticing how much time had passed. He had sketched out about 20 pages of rough designs before settling on about a dozen to perfect color-wise.

His 3rd book consisted entirely of Kurama trying to befriend this cat-like creature Matatabe. The lesson behind this story was simple; whether you come from the forest, the streets or a house; it always helps to have a friend with you. Unfortunately the two-tailed beast had snuck out of a window in the hopes of meeting with his fox friend while his human caretakers were out. But the fox had been gone for days before returning to that window and noticing the missing cat. So he set out to look for his friend in the forest.

He carefully looked down at his current drawing, Kurama stood high on top of a rock overseeing the river. At the far end of the river, a small creature could be seen, trying to hold onto a large piece of floating tree.

He picked up the next draft; a close-up on the two-tailed beast, hanging onto dear life, not realizing his friend is so close, yet so far. His third and fourth drafts would either go 2 ways; either Kurama would selflessly jump in to save his friend or he would climb atop one of the old trees that had a stable large branch partially hanging over the river itself, to lift his friend out of the water. Unsure which to pick he simply studies them more, hoping something would speak to him.

Sometimes having too many ideas could really kick his ass. He liked both options, but choosing one above the other, wasn’t always easy. But before he could further more debate, his cellphone sounded an alarm, reminding him of tonight’s celebration.

“Time to dress up!” He leaned back into his chair, stretching his arms and legs since he hadn’t moved much since his breakfast with Sasuke.

He closed his drawing pad, settling the pencils on to the surface and headed to the bedroom to prepare for this evening’s event.

* * *

Tonight was a big night for Sasuke.

It was the celebration of the biggest contract and partnership his division within Uchiha Corporation had signed with Manda Corporation. It was for development and financing in order to move forward with their main project, but most important of all, it was without the help of the main Uchiha Corporation. Ever since he could remember, the moment he would step into the family business, he wanted to be the one to do all the hard work and reach the top. The last thing he wanted was for people to whisper how everything was simply given to him just because it was his birthright.

Looking in the mirror, he straightened out his dark navy blue tie around his neck until it was perfectly placed on his white-buttoned shirt. Perfect. He pulled out the last missing piece of this attire, the black jacket over his shoulders. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

“Don’t forget to breathe bastard.” Naruto smirked from under the doorframe of the closet, already sporting the black suit himself. They were almost a perfect match. The only difference was he opted for a black tie.

“I should be saying that to you.” He exhaled, turning to around to see his lover. “After all, you usually hate these types of events.”

“True, but tonight I’m there for morale support, since to my recollection, you also hate it.” He grinned.

Although Naruto was known to be a little bit more social than Sasuke, his boyfriend just despised any type of event that involved more than 2 human beings. But business is business after all, and these things were good for the moral of the employees.

“Hn.”He walked over to his lover, one hand wrapping itself behind the blond’s waist, pulling him closer. He was then distracted when his eyes noticed Naruto’s left hand. Usually part of his tattoo was visible but the blond had opted to bandage it carefully, boxing style, to cover it up. He gently took the hand in his own.

“Best to make a first good impression.” He stated. Not everyone was fine with meeting people with tattoos. Even much less when it covered his entire left arm, wrist and partially above the top of his hand, stopping right beneath the trapeziometacarpal of his thumb. With his right hand he pulled Sasuke in for a quick kiss before he rested his forehead against his lover’s.

“God you have no idea how you look fuckable dressed like that.” He sensually let out. He rarely saw Naruto in a tux, but damn did it always make him look sexy with his blond hair and blue eyes.

“First we need to survive this thing.” He reminded his lover. “But I might be open to trying something later…”

* * *

By the time they arrived at Sasuke’s company, the celebration was well underway, with over 30 people present from both Uchiha Technologies Division & Marketing division and Manda Corporation employees. As usual, the bar area was always crowded and the dance floor had a few interesting pairs that definitely knew what they were doing when the music was on.

“It’s been a while Naruto.” Neji joined the pair with 2 glasses of champagne in hand.

“Good to see you too Neji.”

“I’m sorry cut this short, but Sasuke the president of the other company would like a few words with you.” Neji told his boss.

“Hopefully this won’t take too much time.” He grabbed one of the glasses from Neji’s hand and headed out to find the president.

“It’s been 3 months since we last saw you at work. Your energy was definitely missed. Especially by my cousin.” Neji shared, handing out the remaining glass of champagne to the blond.

“How is Hinata doing by the way?”

“She’s doing much better thanks to you. I never really thought she would have taken the lead on projects had it not been for you encouraging her.”

“She just needs to believe in herself more. But I am glad that she is getting out of her shell.” Naruto smiled. “We are actually due for a follow-up next month, so you’ll be seeing me a bit more.”

Although Naruto wasn’t an everyday employee like most people present at the event, he had helped out in the Marketing department in the past year whenever Sasuke needed some additional input or ideas due to his background and diplomas. He had graduation as a Graphic’s Designer and specialized in being a manga artist, he had also taken 4 semesters in Marketing Business but in the end opted to not finish. Marketing bored the hell out of him compared to drawing at his heart’s content. Even so, the knowledge and projects from those 2 years were still useful in understanding both departments at his current full-time job.

That’s how he came to meet Neji, the current Marketing Manager at Sasuke’s company. They had hired a new employee called Moegi that had only 1 year of experience but her interview and portfolio were impressive since she freelanced for 2 years as well and came with top-notch recommendations. Imagine their surprise when they received a phone call from the client saying they were very displeased with the drafts they had been sent. Normally drafts were supposed to be preapproved by the Manager before sending them for final approval to the client…Apparently, she didn’t think she needed anyone’s approval since her drafts were like pieces of art and if they didn’t like it, then the clients were idiots.

“I still can’t believe she managed to bypass you on that one.” He remembered hearing about it for a complete month at home. Sasuke was fuming at how he wasted money and many hours for something that was due for in only 5 days.

“All I know is that she ran out crying after being stuck in the room for 30 minutes with Uchiha-san. Nobody wanted to go check out if he was ok.” Neji shared with Naruto, sipping his glass of champagne.

“To be honest, even I would have stayed clear, he can really hold a grudge, especially under the pressure he was in at the time.” He confirmed, finishing the appetizer in one bite.

“I’m glad it happened. We got to meet you afterwards.” The brunette smiled. He usually wasn’t one to socialise much, but Naruto had this aura that made you want to stick around. He was quite surprised when he learned that he was actually Sasuke’s boyfriend.

“Me too” He smiled back.

Before they could continue on with their discussion, he noticed Sasuke was walking towards them.

“Both of you follow me.” The young Uchiha started, but he noticed the puzzled look in their faces. “That includes you Naruto.”

“Eh!? Me too?” Naruto gaped, pointing a finger at himself. Why on earth would the president of a large company want to meet with him? He hadn’t worked on any projects recently related to Sasuke’s division.

“Yeah, he saw a few of your old work and just wanted to associated a face to the name he told me. So behave.” Sasuke warned him softly.

“Of course Sasuke-sama!” He teased, earning him an immediate glare from his lover.

Neji on the other hand couldn’t help but smile at the interaction. It was very rare to see this side of his boss. The man was usually all about business and he was known to be cutthroat and cold, just like every member of the Uchiha family.

They crossed the room with ease and finally made it near the small group of 2, with one of the two people having their backs turned to them so it was hard to decipher if it was a man or woman since their black hair was long enough to reach his shoulder blades. The other person they could see was clearly a young woman with light brown eyes and short violet hair but spiky fanned-out ponytail style. Sasuke then placed his hand on the taller person to introduce him to Neji and Naruto.

“Anko-san, Orochimaru-san, this is my Marketing Manager Hyuga Neji and this is Uzumaki Naruto, a freelancer in Graphic Designs. He was the only who made those drafts I showed you last month.” Sasuke’s hand retreated to his side, finishing up the introductions.

Neji leaned forward, shaking Orochimaru’s hand first before moving on to Anko. Initially, Naruto wasn’t paying too much attention; these types of introduction were a polite gesture but really meant nothing in the end. He took hold of the person’s hand giving a slight shake before he finally opted to make eye contact. It was exactly at that moment, the man spoke.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, _Naruto-kun_.” Orochimaru greeted the blond, secretly licking the bottom of his own lip.

_‘That voice…’_ Naruto’s eyes widened, a chill ran right down to his spine while his heartbeat accelerated dangerously. _‘It can’t be…’_

Naruto just _froze_. His body tensed up and his grip tightened involuntary on Orochimaru’s hand. A split second later, he quickly jerked his hand away.

“Is everything all right Naruto-kun?” The older man asked, slightly smirking at the blond.

“I-I’m so-sorry.” He barely managed to say those words before running out of the room, leaving the people behind confused.

“Go, I’ll manage here.” Neji softly spoke into his boss’s ear, urging him to go check-up on his partner.

“Excuse me.” Sasuke excused himself from the group, leaving them in Neji’s capable hands. Sasuke stealthily left to follow the blond.

“Sorry about that Orochimaru-san, Anko-san, for the moment if you have any questions you can ask me until we sort this out.” Neji smiled gently at their guests, trying to divert their attention from what had just happened. But something bothered him about the older man. In these types of situation, people, especially higher ranked people would have been angered by this turn of events. Yet, he could see the man’s lips slightly curved upright, as if he was happy about the reaction he got out of Naruto. Maybe it was his imagination…right?

* * *

Pushing the bathroom door open, Naruto quickly locked himself in one of the bathroom stalls, his back firmly pressed against it. He looked down at his trembling hands, his stomach was churning and seconds later he vomited whatever food he had eaten during the evening right down the toilet.

“Naruto? Naruto are you alright?” Sasuke spoke out softly, trying to pinpoint his lover when he heard more vomiting from the second stall. He slowly walked towards it, hand pressed against the locked door.

Naruto remained still, his brain trying to make sense of everything that happened in the past 5 minutes. “I-I think I ate something bad… earlier…” He let out, his voice trembling from the aftertaste of vomiting.

“Come out, we’re going home.” Sasuke softly spoke, he was definitely concerned for the blond after hearing him hurl again.

Naruto raised his right hand, the backside resting against his bottom lips as he tried to steady his breathing. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to calm himself down before answering his boyfriend. He hated lying, but he just couldn’t deal with this situation and Sasuke at the same time. He needed time, time to process, and time to think.

“I-I’ll grab a taxi once I’m done…”

“I’m not leaving you like – “

“Sasuke! This is your big night; it’s fucking pointless to have one if the boss isn’t there. Plus you have your client to take care of…” He momentarily closed his eyes, remembering that cold disgusting look the older man had. “I’ll text you the moment I get home bastard.” He knew how protective Uchihas could be when people they cared about were hurt or in pain.

“Fine… But the moment this party is over, I’m coming home.” The raven-haired reluctantly agreed. “Don’t forget idiot.” He let out, taking one last look at the door before walking out to rejoin the party.

Eyes still closed, Naruto waited to hear the doorknob click from the door which insured that Sasuke had finally left the bathroom altogether. With his boyfriend finally gone, he flushed the contents of the toilet before unlocking the door to his stall. He walked over to the double sink vanity to properly rinse out the after-taste left in his mouth. He splashed his face a couple of times, looking at the reflection of himself in the mirror. He was glad Sasuke could not see him now. His hair was completely dishevelled, his blue eyes looked almost empty, drained of the usual life they had. He closed his eyes again, taking in a deep long breath and slowly exhaled.

Then he heard a familiar sound.

CLICK.

“Dammit Uchiha I told you I’d be fine!” He yelled out at the man no less than 2 meters from him.

Blue eyes locked with dark yellowish eyes.

”My, is that any way to greet an old friend, _little one_?”

To be continued…


	2. Stuck in the moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now in the safety of his house, Naruto remember’s his encounter with Orochimaru and wants nothing more than to forget it ever happened. 
> 
> Warning : non-consensual touching in the flashback scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my Birthday today so I decided to update both my new story Behind Blue Eyes and A New Path as a treat to myself!
> 
> Thank you again for all the warm comments and continued support.
> 
> A special thanks to Dhampir (Dhampire) who continues to be my beautiful muse and beta for this story. Do check out her Naruto fanfics as well, they are AWESOME! ^_^
> 
> _Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it._

Sasuke was definitely not happy about leaving Naruto like that in the bathroom. He knew his boyfriend was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to just go and leave him there. He leaned against the wall, just for a few seconds to gather his thoughts and evening out his breathing. He looked back into the main hall and noticed Neji was clearly at ease handling Orochimaru and Anko. The sooner he gets over there the sooner he can call it a night. All eyes settled on Sasuke’s return, evidently noticing that the other blond man was nowhere to be seen. Neji glanced at him worryingly, hoping that Naruto was okay.

“Is your colleague doing alright Sasuke-san?” Orochimaru asked with what appeared to be legitimate concern for the other young man.

“Unfortunately he’s not feeling well. Something he ate apparently. I’m sorry you won’t get to speak with him this evening Orochimaru-san.”

“That’s a shame. I was truly looking forward to speaking with him more about his _unique talents_.” The president shared, bringing his index finger to touch his chin.

“I’m sure we can arrange a meeting in the next 30 days if you want?”

“That would be splendid. Anko will be calling you to set this up.” He waved his hand over to his employee who was more than happy to take a few notes along the way.

A cellphone rang. The Manda President reached into his pocket and immediately recognized the caller ID.

“If you’ll excuse me, this is important.” Orochimaru promptly left them and headed towards the corridor for a quieter environment to speak.

**_“Having fun yet Orochimaru-sama?” The man on the other end of the cellphone asked._ **

“You were right. It is my Naruto. You’ll be kindly rewarded tonight.” Orochimaru couldn’t help but smirk when he saw those bright blue eyes for the first time in so many years. The look on his face was priceless, an added bonus for him to witness.

**_“My door is always opened for you Orochimaru-sama.” His tone was low, yet filled with desire._ **

“I’ll tell you all about it later.” He hit the button to end the call, slipping his cellphone back into his side pocket.

The man paused, standing in front of the men’s bathroom door. His entire being was shaking in excitement of what stood behind this door. He couldn’t wait to finally speak to the young man alone, without prying eyes.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Naruto stepped out of the taxi and hurried to the front door. Taking out his keys to find the right one, he couldn’t stop his hands from trembling. He shook his head, annoyed at the situation more than anything. He closed his eyes just for a moment. He took a minute, inhaling and exhaling at a slower pace to calm his nerves. He touched every key until he finally found the right one by memory.

“Fuck.” He told himself, opening his eyes to unlock the door.

Once he was inside, he made sure to lock the door again. He barely finished turning the deadbolt that he kicked his shoes off and hastily made his way to the bathroom. He slammed the door shut, not caring for the loud thud it made against the doorframe.

He almost ripped the tie right off his neck, quickly discarding it to the garbage can that was next to the toilet. He just needed everything off him. _NOW!_ He couldn’t stand the lingering smell, the ghost fingers that gripped his arms. He tore his shirt off next, buttons snapping off at the sudden force he used. His pants received the same treatment before falling to the ground along with his boxers.

Once he was completely stripped of all his clothing, he tossed them all into the trashcan, quickly knotting the bag shut. His heart was pounding more and more in his chest almost painfully, his breathing shortening again. He needed to calm down if he didn’t want to pass out.

He got into the walk-in shower and turned on the cold water first. The first droplets of water to touch his skin were ice cold, but it was enough to snap him back to reality and out of his panicked state. He leaned forward, both hands pressing against the wall just above his own height, eyes closed as the cold water ran down his entire body.

It took him a few more minutes before he realized his body was shivering from the water temperature. Regaining some control, he finally turned the hot water on, taking a few steps back to sit on the ceramic bench behind him. He brought his knees up to his chest, his left foot just slightly behind his right one. He wrapped his arms around enough around his bent knees to keep them together tightly, letting his head in the crook of his knee and arms.

He finally closed his eyes, calming himself as best he could as the water cascaded on him from the showerhead mounted on the opposite wall. Unintentionally, his nails began to dig into his upper arms, painfully breaking the skin as blood slowly poured out beneath them.

No matter how hard he tried, his mind kept replaying tonight’s singular event.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_When he heard the doorknob turning again, it just made him angry. How could Sasuke not get it yet? He had been very clear that he was more than capable of getting his own ass home safely._

_“Dammit Uchiha I told you I’d be fine!” He yelled out at the man no less than 2 meters from him._

_Blue eyes locked with dark yellowish eyes._

_”My, is that any way to greet an old friend, little one?” Orochimaru smirked proudly._

_Naruto’s eyes widened, his brain slowly registering that it wasn’t Sasuke standing in front of him, but Orochimaru. He gulped at the sight, barely able to take one step back, his lower back instantly hit the sink counter, limiting his movements. He opened his mouth, but no words left._

_“How long has it been? 10-15 years?” The older man approached the blond more, like a hunter ready to devour its prey with satisfaction._

_“Y-You…” Naruto stuttered, his hands gripping the edge of vanity, desperately trying to find the end of it._

_It wasn’t until he saw Orochimaru’s right hand reach for his face that he manage to slide himself to the corner of the room, right between the vanity and the electric hand drying machine. His eyes wildly focused on that slender hand, inching closer and closer and when the tip of those cold hands traced his whisker marks, his entire body just froze in place._ _He wanted to run but his body was paralyzed with fear._

_Orochimaru cupped the young man’s cheek while his other hand was sliding down to his waist, “I missed your scent little one…” He purred into Naruto’s ear, inhaling the blond locks with delight._

_Naruto somehow managed to bring his hand closer, gripping the pale hand that was dangerously too close to genital area. His hands were shaking, barely able to maintain a grip, his body shivered when he felt so powerless to actually stop him. His eyes squinted shut when he felt the pressure of Orochimaru’s hand pressing up and down, slowly awakening his cock._

_A low moan unintentionally escaped his lips. Orochimaru licked his earlobe, pleased with the physical reactions he was getting from the blond, “Your body hasn’t forgotten about me…” His right hand forcefully grabbed his chin, ready to kiss those lips._

_When Naruto felt his chin being raised up he instinctively knew what would happen next. His mind was screaming no, but his body was betraying him. He couldn’t let this happen, not again!_

_The door suddenly swung open and two men walked in, not yet aware of what was currently happening in the room._

_“Dude did you see that chick from the other company?”_

_“The one with the red hair and glasses you mean?”_

_“Yeah! God how I would love to tap that ass tonight.”_

_“By the way she’s drinking tonight, you might get your chance.”_

_He elbowed his friend in the ribs, grinning like an idiot until he noticed his friend wasn’t even looking at him anymore. Something else had definitely caught his attention. He followed the gaze to the scene in front of him, both men gasped at the sight._

_Here was their boss glaring at them, clearly pinning a young blond to the wall and having his own little private party and they were most unquestionably interrupting them. The last thing they needed was for him to be pissed at them and taking it out on them later._

_“Sorry boss! We’ll leave you two alone.” He raised his hands defensively in front of him, bowing as they retreated from the premises._

_Once the door was closed, Orochimaru’s full attention returned to Naruto. Much to his surprise however, he was suddenly pushed hard to the side, his own hip crashing against the vanity as Naruto bolted out of the bathroom as fast as he could._

_Naruto didn’t run back into the party, he quickly left using the back door to call himself a taxi and get the hell out of there._

* * *

He didn’t know how long he stayed in the shower, but it was long enough for the water to run cold again, this time on its own. He reached out, twisting the knobs to shut it all off. He felt so drained from tonight’s event. But what bothered him the most was actually not being to stay there to support his boyfriend and for that he felt like a complete failure.

As he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a large orange towel around his waist, the screen on his phone lit up.

**_10:22 PM : Are you home yet?_ **

**_10:30 PM : Naruto?_ **

**_10:45 PM : Answer me idiot!_ **

Naruto chuckled at the last text. Uchihas always expected quick replies if you didn’t then the insults soon started.

**_10:45 PM : I’m home. I’m OK. Took a shower. Going to sleep now._ **

Naruto didn’t feel like saying much more. Right now all he wanted to do is sleep and forget about everything that happened in the last 3 hours. He was about to put on a clean pair of boxer and his phone lit up again.

**_10:46 PM : I’m glad you’re doing better. I’ll be home as soon as I can. Goodnight._ **

When Sasuke’s last message came in, he felt relieved. At least the bastard wasn’t going to push things any further.

**_10:46 PM : Night._ **

With a flick of the wrist, he gently threw his phone on the bathroom vanity, grabbing a smaller orange towel; he carefully expunged his hair from what little water remained in them. He slipped on a pair of boxers, flicking the switch to turn off the lights and headed to bed.

He crawled almost hastily in bed, taking the right side, hogging the cool yet soft fabric of the black color covert duvet. He curled up on his right side to look at the empty space beside him, almost bitter that Sasuke wasn’t here now. Although he wanted to be alone, part of him wanted to be comforted by someone. He grabbed Sasuke’s pillow, wrapping his hands around it, taking in his scent and slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

Back at the party, Anko wasted no time in scheduling next week’s meetings with Neji. She always carried her electronic agenda wherever she went. No matter what type of event, Orochimaru had made it clear to her, if she wanted to continue being his right-hand at his company, she needed to be ready at all times.

Sasuke took a quick moment to send a text to Naruto since 30 minutes had already passed. Surely he had ample time to be at home.

****

**_10:22 PM : Are you home yet?_ **

A familiar voice soon joined their conversation. “How are we doing Anko?”

Sasuke quickly shoved the phone back into his pocket when he saw the older man standing next to him. He didn’t want to seem impolite.

Anko looked up to see Orochimaru standing right next to the Uchiha. “We’ve schedules 4 meetings in the next 4 weeks. But everything needs to be reconfirmed by Neji-san on Monday.”

“Perfect.” He smiled at his employee before turning his attention to Sasuke and Neji.

Sasuke grew impatient when he received no reply. He quickly grabbed his phone, texting Naruto again.

**_10:30 PM : Naruto?_ **

This time he opted to keep his phone within his hand while he continued their conversation.

“Hyuga Hinata? Are you by any chance related?” Anko asked.

“Hinata is my cousin. She will be the one in charge of any graphic material you will need with our joint project.” Neji explained.

“I’m looking forward to working with her as well then.” Anko smiled. It wasn’t that often to meet other women in their field and if this Hinata was anything close to the man standing in front of her, she would certainly be a great asset to their joint project.

“We’ll also have to schedule – “ Anko began but was distracted when she clearly heard her boss’s phone ring.

Orochimaru’s phone buzzed again, another text message appearing on his phone. This time it seemed to grab his absolute and complete attention. “I’m sorry but I have something I must tend to urgently. It was a pleasure meeting you all. Hopefully I’ll meet Uzumaki-san soon again.” The older man respectfully bowed his head apologetically.

“No worries. I understand completely.” Sasuke reassured him. After all how many times his own parents and brother dropped everything to deal with an emergency at work?

The Manda president simply nodded before walking away.

“Thank you. Goodnight.” Anko spoke, bowing with ease in turn before hurrying after her boss.

Although Sasuke was happy for them to leave much earlier than anticipated, he still found the whole interaction a bit odd for some reason. The older man seemed pleased despite tonight’s turn of events. Normally he would have expected some sort of resentment but Orochimaru seemed to be a very particular individual altogether.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when Neji turned towards him worryingly.

“How’s Naruto?” Neji asked, concerned.

“He thinks he ate something bad. I told him to text me when he got home, but he hasn’t replied.” Sasuke answered, flipping his phone to text his boyfriend.

**_10:45 PM : Answer me idiot!_ **

“That’s strange, he barely ate 2 appetizers while we were talking.” Neji let out, a bit puzzled by the answer Naruto had given.

“Maybe it was at home –“ He started before his phone buzzed and the screen lit up.

**_10:45 PM : I’m home. I’m OK. Took a shower. Going to sleep now._ **

****

Sasuke frowned at the screen of his phone. It was very unusual for Naruto to actually use barely any words when they texted. As much as he was a verbal person who wouldn’t shut up, it also showed clearly when he was texting. Evidently Naruto was far from all right right now.

For now he swallowed his pride.

****

**_10:46 PM : I’m glad you’re doing better. I’ll be home as soon as I can. Goodnight._ **

****

He rarely wrote that many words in one text, but he strangely felt the need to do it this time.

****

**_10:46 PM : Night._ **

He finally closed his phone, sighing in relief. Only Naruto would forget to actually text him like he said he would. At least he was safe and sound at home.

“You should go home Sasuke.” Neji told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll take care of closing this place up ok?” He kindly offered his boss. People rarely knew much less saw Uchiha Sasuke’s private life, but strangely enough it was Naruto that brought them closer together and now they were friends.

“Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t be offering otherwise.”

“Thank you Neji.” Sasuke whispered before heading outside to go back home and check on his boyfriend.

* * *

Outside in the parking lot, a black SUV pulled up to the side, coming to a complete stop only a few meters away from Orochimaru. The driver stepped out, dressed in a complete black suit, which certainly brought out his features. His pale skin contrasted with the black suit he wore, bringing out his green eyes. Beneath the black chauffeur’s hat, his long hair reached his shoulders, barely tied in a loose ponytail near the middle of his back. The finishing touch was the pure white gloves he wore while driving.

“Sir.” The chauffeur opened the door with his right hand, slightly leaning forward while his left hand invited him to sit in the vehicle.

Before even looking at his chauffeur, Orochimaru turned his attention to Anko.

“Make sure I get to meet this Uzumaki Naruto as soon as possible Anko.” His tone was harsh, clearly it was not a suggestion.

“Certainly Orochimaru-sama.” She made a quick note to her agenda. Last thing she needed was for him riding her ass about not completing any of the tasks given to her. Over the past two years she learned quickly whenever he spoke a certain way, you better make it happens or suffer the consequences. Having seen former employees suffer those consequences, she made a mental note for that to never let that happen to her. She needed this job and she would be damned if anyone got in her way.

“Good girl.”

“Goodnight sir.” She bowed to him before going further in the parking area to find her own car.

With Anko leaving, Orochimaru stepped into the SUV. Once the older man was settled in the car, Kimimaro gently closed the passenger door and went around the SUV, getting back into the driver’s seat.

“Did you enjoy your evening Orochimaru-sama?” Kimimaro asked, glancing into the rear-view mirror, adjusting temporarily to better see his boss.

Orochimaru’s lips curved upwards. “Very interesting indeed.”

“Where to now sir?”

“Bring me to his house.” He smiled mischievously. He had promised to reward the man on the phone greatly for finding his little Naruto again. And rewarded he will be. Luckily for him, his earlier encounter had already awakened his sexual desires for the evening.

* * *

Sasuke was very thankful to Neji for holding down the fort in his place. Although he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he was really worried for his boyfriend. The sound of his voice in the bathroom was anything but fine. Even though Naruto told him he would be fine, Sasuke couldn’t help but still feel guilty about leaving him there, alone.

Now that he was home, in their bedroom, he could certainly say his instincts about Naruto were spot on. He could distinctively see his lover curled up against something under the covers. It wasn’t until he approached their bed that he noticed it was his own own pillow.

In their 5 years together, Naruto always took as much space as possible in their bed, whether he was in it or not. To see him this bundled up like this, taking so little space, left him deeply concerned.

Not wanting to disturb him yet, Sasuke headed into their Ensuite bathroom to change out of his suit. He didn’t shut the door completely, but enough so barely any light could reach their bed. Stripping down to his boxers, he placed his suit onto the hanger behind the door. He quickly took a few sips of water to properly rinse out his mouth before finally shutting the lights the to bathroom.

He silently walked back to their bed, slipping under the covers. At first he tried to pry off Naruto’s arms on his pillow, but clearly the blond was clinging to it like his life depended on it.

He stayed in a sitting position, looking down at the sleeping blond, unsure of what to do at this point. He wanted to wake him up, ask him if everything was okay, but at the same time, he knew that in the past 24 hours he hadn’t really slept either.

Fortunately for him, the decision was made for him.

“Sas?” Blue eyes squinted open, trying to pinpoint his boyfriend’s face in the darkness of their room.

“Hn. Mind giving me back my pillow?” Sasuke tugged on it a little.

“S-Sorry…” He immediately let go. He hadn’t even realized that he was hanging onto it so tightly in the first place.

Sasuke placed the pillow back to its rightful place before laying down, resting on his back, eyes towards the ceiling. He looked to his left side, observing the blond who partially sat up in their bed, his right hand firmly pressed against the mattress for support. In one swift movement, Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s right hand, pulling him down to him. The sudden loss of balance made Naruto tilt towards the other man, his left hand rapidly found new support on Sasuke’s right side of his chest.

When he got a glimpse into those blue eyes, they seemed… _vulnerable_.

He raised his right hand, gently caressing Naruto’s left cheek. Naruto closed his eyes from the familiar warm touch. It was nothing like the cold touch he’d felt earlier with that other man. He shivered at the thought. No. Right now he needed to think about Sasuke. He placed his own hand on top of Sasuke’s, tracing each finger with his own before leaning down and kissing raven’s lips unexpectedly. Their kiss was gentle yet Sasuke could feel the desperation behind it.

When their lips parted, Sasuke looked again into those deep blue eyes, before he could say anything, Naruto rested his head against his chest, curled up against his body while his left hand rested around his waist, fingers slightly gripping his hip on the other side.

“Naruto?” His voice laced with concern. He had felt the blond shiver seconds ago.

There was a pause and he could feel Naruto’s fingers digging a little bit more into his hip.

“Just…just be here okay?” His voice nearly cracked. The moment he answered, he heard Sasuke’s heart beating faster. He knew all too well what his next question would be.

“Naruto, are you alright?” Sasuke questionably asked him, sliding his left arm over lover’s shoulder, pulling him as close as possible.

“I will be.” Naruto answered him.

It took about a minute, but Sasuke’s heartbeat slowly returned to normal. Naruto let himself adjust to the soft comforting sound, finally falling asleep because he felt safe now.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a challenge to write. It’s not easy to convey emotions and thoughts during a time of crisis. Hopefully I did it justice!
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> Ookima


	3. Dinner plus dessert right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonight, they were finally having dinner with Naruto’s brother Gaara and his boyfriend Lee. And who doesn’t love a little dessert right?
> 
> Warning : This chapter is NSFW.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to Dhampir (Dhampire) who continues to be my beautiful muse and beta for this story. 
> 
> _Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it._

The first thought that crossed his mind as he woke up slowly… he felt warm. He didn’t feel cold at all. This warmth surrounded him completely, washing away any negative feelings he had. But most of all, he felt safe here.

He felt something warm yet so gentle was smoothly passing through his hair as though he was being pet. The soft sound of Sasuke’s heartbeat slowly increased when he embraced the raven man more tightly, not wanting this moment to end. So he chose to ignore the fact morning had arrived and nuzzled into the crook of Sasuke’s neck instead, inhaling what was left of his cologne scent from the previous night.

“You do realize we need to get out of bed eventually?”

“Too early.” He whined.

“Dobe, it’s almost noon.” Sasuke informed him.

Naruto’s head shot up, blue eyes staring into black ones. The blond’s hands firmly pressed against the mattress holding his upper body above Sasuke’s.

“What!?” He yelled out in surprise. How in the hell could it be noon? He never slept for long stretches of hours. Like, _ever_.

Sasuke winced at the sudden high pitch. “Seeing as how you barely slept in the past week, I’m not surprised.”

Naruto moved back, sitting on his knees, his hands rested face down on them. “How long have you been awake then?”

“An hour.”

“You could have woken me up bastard.”

“No. You clearly needed it.” He shot back without hesitation. “Besides you didn’t give me much of a choice either.” Sasuke slid the bed sheet off his hips, clearly showing the indentations of red marks on them.

Naruto offered a small grin, rubbing the back of his head apologetically. “S-Sorry.”

Sasuke sighed. Last night he didn’t want to press the issue, but now he wanted to be sure.

“Are you okay?” His voice laced with concern.

Naruto’s head cocked to the side, not understanding at first, but then it hit him. Last night’s throwing up and… He shook his head quickly. He didn’t need nor want that memory back to the surface. Not now and certainly not when he’s in bed with his boyfriend! At this moment, he was with Sasuke and that’s all that mattered.

His eyes soften, noticing the genuine concern on Sasuke’s face. “Thank you.” _Thank you for worrying about me. Caring for me. Loving me._ He mentally added.

That _look in Nauto’s eyes_ , said it all.

Sasuke sat up to close the distance between them, grabbing Naruto’s chin and pressing his lips against his. Blue eyes widened at the sudden action, but within seconds he melted into the kiss. Without realizing it, Naruto brought both hands on his boyfriend’s cheeks, deepening their kiss. Naruto couldn’t help but let a moan escape his lips when he felt Sasuke’s hand descend to his waist, fingers snatching the waistband of his boxers.

“We’ll never be ready for tonight’s dinner if we continue like this…” He barely managed to let out, clearly aroused.

Sasuke licked the blond’s bottom lip; “We can always cancel dinner tonight.”

Naruto pulled back, eyeing the Uchiha suspiciously for the remark.

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want to socialize with Gaara and Lee.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, sighing. He wasn’t about to admit it was simply because he wanted to spend more time with him. His job took over his life in the past few months, and the little interaction they had was attached to a boring routine. And despite ravaging Naruto two nights ago, he wanted something more _intimate and slow_. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed a rather mischievous smile forming on Naruto’s lips.

“Tell you what – “ Naruto started, twisting those black strands of hair in his fingers, “If you behave tonight, we can stay locked in our bedroom for the entire day tomorrow.”

Sasuke looked at him cautiously. “Aren’t you working tomorrow?”

He grinned at his boyfriend, “Nope. Finished everything yesterday afternoon. So I am officially done for the entire weekend.”

_‘This weekend might not be too bad after all.’_ Sasuke thought.

“No interruptions. No calls. No answering the door.”

“Just you, me and Mr. Lube over there.” He winked at the small nightstand on his side of the bed as his hand gently pressed against Sasuke’s half-hard cock.

“Better keep your word then.” Sasuke gasped at the teasing hand. He really hated it when Naruto did that, but usually that meant things were going to be very interesting to compensate for it. He couldn’t wait to find out what it would be tonight.

“Believe it!” He stuck his tongue out.

Only this blond idiot could make Sasuke feel so _alive_.

* * *

Naruto finally opted for a casual look for the day, dark blue jeans with a very simple orange t-shirt. No need to dress up like yesterday, this was just going to be a small social gathering; sharing a meal with his brother and boyfriend.

When he walked out of their room to join Sasuke in the kitchen, his eyes fixated on his lover’s firm ass. Those tight black pants and dark blue t-shirt were evil. How dare he wear that specific pair of pants today of all days? That single pair of pants always made him drool, teasing bastard! When he got closer in an attempt to grab Sasuke’s ass, he noticed Sasuke actually glaring at the fridge intensively.

“Sas?” He cautiously approached his boyfriend. The Uchiha glare was never to be underestimated, so what had the refrigerator done to earn it?

“I’m missing key ingredients for tonight’s dinner.”

“Then go to the store. I’ll tidy things up.”

Sasuke grabbed his car keys and was set to leave when he looked over his shoulder to Naruto. “Can you take care of having our suits cleaned? Mine’s behind the bathroom door.”

“Sure, I’ll take care of it!”

Sasuke left, and Naruto lost no time into completing that task quickly, before he forgets… _again_. Three months ago he was supposed to have it cleaned at the cleaners and he forgot. Sasuke ended up needing it and simply bought one on the fly for his event. Needless to say Sasuke was pissed at him for an entire week, which meant no sex, not even a blowjob… Nothing! He really didn’t want to relive that.

He grabbed his cell, about to type in the Cleaner’s number when his eyes caught sight of the trashcan and its content. He felt a sudden chill throughout his entire body.

_‘Keep your cool Uzumaki. First Sasuke’s suit, then that goes in the garbage.’_ Naruto reminded himself. He shook his shoulders, hoping to get rid of that damn chilling effect.

His eyes focused on placing Sasuke’s suit in the transport bag for transport, while his free hand called the Cleaner’s company to arrange pickup. He got lucky with them. Despite being a Saturday, they could come and pick up the suit in 30 minutes and have it ready by Monday morning. Perfect!

He eyed the tied bag in the trashcan before grabbing it almost in disgust before heading outside to the driveway to dispose of it quickly and never think about it again.

* * *

Sasuke finally came back an hour later, groceries in hand. Naruto looked at him, noticing that his boyfriend seemed as annoyed as when he left which was strange since the original problem was lack of ingredients. But now they had the ingredients, so?

“Something happen?” He asked, helping setting aside the groceries.

“Too many people.” He almost growled out.

Naruto bit his lip, trying to prevent himself from laughing out loud. Grocery shopping on a Saturday was usually the busiest time of the week. Sasuke, who’s the most antisocial person in the Country, had apparently forgotten that small detail.

The Uchiha opted to just forget the entire thing and prepare this damn dinner for now. He only had 3 hours left before Lee and Gaara would arrive for the evening. He was setting up his cutting board, knives and ingredients when he felt Naruto’s body press against his from behind, hands gently massaging his hips in small circular movements.

“We have to prepare dinner for it to be cooked in time.” Sasuke reminded his boyfriend with a stern voice.

Apparently the message wasn’t received since two fingers slowly slid under his boxer’s waistband and dangerously getting closer to his sleeping cock. Sasuke was about to snap at the blond when Naruto started nibbling on his earlobe. He pulled Naruto’s hand from his pants, turning around to better confront him. He was about to speak when Naruto’s lips came crashing down on his own aggressively. He pushed Sasuke back against the kitchen counter, his hands hastily undoing the buckle at the front and tossing it aside.

“You shouldn’t have worn those damn pants…” Naruto let out before sinking down to his knees, bringing Sasuke’s pants and boxers down in one swift movement.

“Na – “ Sasuke barely managed to let out when he felt warm fingers wrap itself around his hardening cock, gently pulling down the foreskin and began pumping him smoothly.

Naruto momentarily looked up and smiled. Sasuke’s eyes were initially glaring at him but soon they closed, sign that he was trying to hold back and not give Naruto the satisfaction of having him squirm underneath his touch. The blond quickly pulled out a small tube from his pocket with his free hand, opening the cap and applying some on Sasuke’s length. Sasuke shivered at the sudden coldness of the liquid, but with each stroke it became warmer, hot even. Naruto leaned closer, his tongue licking the precum that slowly formed at the top of Sasuke’s cock before finally wrapping his lips around the top of Sasuke’s length while his hand slowly sped up.

“Fu –“ Sasuke moaned, bucking his hips, trying to match Naruto’s each thrust. His lower back was pressed hard against the kitchen countertop almost painfully, both hands gripping the edges to help support his weight and prevent him from falling to the ground.

Naruto’s eyes looked up to see Sasuke looking down on him, blushing shamelessly. The man was obviously biting his inner cheek to have some control over the situation. _Typical Uchiha_.

“I want to hear you Sas.” Naruto whispered to his lover before licking the base of his lover’s shaft, sliding all the way back to the top and sucking once more on the head. He swirled his tongue at the line of the gland and shaft, searching for that weak spot.

Sasuke’s breath hitched and with that, Naruto concentrated on that particular spot, sucking on it harder while his hand continued to stroke him at a much more rapid pace. It was only a matter of time before he heard his lover’s release, both vocally and physically. Naruto felt Sasuke’s cock thrust deeper and deeper into his mouth, almost making him act on his gag reflex. He noticed his lover’s hips began to tremble. His release was imminent and seconds later silky thick cum was filling his mouth.

“Ahh!”

Naruto quickly shifted his position, pressing his hands up against Sasuke’s hips, making sure he didn’t fall on the floor. He slowly stood up again, looking into his lover’s eyes.

“What the hell dobe?” Sasuke groaned, coming back to his senses.

“Just a preview for tonight.” He grinned, showing the small tube in his hand. “And you might want to change pants after all.” He grinned.

Sasuke looked down, noticing the smudges on his underwear from most likely the lube.

“Damn it.” He slipped out of his pants and boxers, ready to head to the bedroom for a quick change when he turned around to look at Naruto. “This wasn’t just a preview knowing you.”

Naruto winked at him. “Cuz now you can cook with a smile on your face instead!” Naruto cheerfully told him.

Sasuke groaned, only that idiot could do a blowjob and say something so corny afterwards.

* * *

While Sasuke finished preparing tonight’s meal, Naruto decided it was best to change his shirt. It wasn’t until he went to take a leak in their ensuite bathroom, that he noticed that some of the lube from giving head to his lover had been smeared on it. Tossing it to the dirty laundry basket next to the shower, he quickly went grabbed another shirt from his dresser in the bedroom. He was just about to put it on, when he paused mid-movement. He lowered his arms, setting the shirt on the top of the dresser and looked at his reflection in the large mirror that was mounted on the door to the walk-in closer, his eyes focusing on his entire left arm.

He never got tired of looking at his tattoo, knowing it was a great turning point in his life.

Even if he was only 14 years old when he got his first tattoo, Kurama the nine-tails fox, he had done some research about eventually getting a Samoan tattoo. He wanted to change that painful event into something positive, his own story to tell. It became something that he could control by designing it himself.

His tattoo consisted of three colors; black, white and orange in a variety of shades. On the topside of his wrist, Kurama the nine-tails orange fox laid down, his muzzle pointing towards the hand and laying on a single tail curved beneath it. The other eight tails spread from left to right in a half circle like on the top of its body. The tails wrapped completely around his arm and went all the way to the top of his elbow. The contour of the body and tails were a thick black while the head of the fox started in a dark shade of orange, and as it progressed through the tails the orange color faded to white. 

On the other underside of his wrist, there was a white amulet with shadows on the outer rectangle form with the word Kurama in kanji, written in black on it. In the small hole of the top amulet, a string passed through it as though it's tied within his skin.

Continuing up his arm were 8 more smaller figures that Naruto had added over the years, but unlike the Kyuubi, the 8 other tailed beasts were not colored, opting for a play between different shades of black and white.The starting point was Kurama, and as it progressed up to his elbow, the _Gyūki_ the Eight-Tails distinguished itself by its four long horns on its head and the eight tails similar to octopus legs, followed a bit higher by the Chōmei the Seven Tails, resembling a rhinoceros beetle. Just above the elbow was Saiken the Six-Tails that resembled a large bipedal slug with two stubby arms and two legs, right next to it Kokuō the Five-Tails was a mix of creatures between the body of a horse and the head of a short nosed dolphin with two pointed long horns on top. Now on the shoulder, Son Gokū the Four-tails looked like a two-color monkey with elongated blunt fangs, and two long horns curving upwards on its forehead like a crown. Slowly moving towards the back of the shoulder, Isobu the Three-Tails was a bit larger due to it resembling a turtle with a crab-like shell with spikes, it's head almost looking like a clam shell with only two gleaming eyes. Last of all, Matatabi the Two-Tails was similar to a large tabby striped cat much like the fox itself. On the shoulder blade itself, Shukaku the One-Tail beast stood proudly as a tanuki with markings like cracks and dots on its body, the sclerae of its eyes are black, with yellow irises and pupils that each takes the shape of a black four-pointed star with four black dots around it.

Everything was brought together by the design that consisted of an intricate pattern of geometric shapes, comprised of straight lines and sharp angles, covering the entire shoulder and the back left shoulder blade.

Naruto ran his fingers lightly over the tattoos, his fingers almost caressing Kurama for a moment, before he shrugged his shirt on and finished getting dressed. His brother would be here shortly and that event was in his past, there was no use dwelling on it now.

* * *

It was 6:30 in the evening when they heard a soft knock was heard from the front door. Naruto hurriedly walked to it, opening it swiftly with his best greeting smile.

“Hey guys! It’s been way too long.” Naruto stepped aside to let both guests come in before closing the door behind them.

Over the years, Gaara has remained with short but spike red hair, the few strands that covered his forehead; just enough to partially cover that tattoo his father graciously gave him at the age of 5. It was almost the same color as his hair, a kanji that meant ‘love’. He was offered to have it removed but in the end he chose to keep it as a reminder of his past. Strangely, had it not been for that tattoo he probably wouldn’t have captivated his now boyfriend’s attention.

The pair couldn’t be more odd in their physical appearance.

Where Gaara was shorter than the average male, silent and looked as if he was just out of prison. Lee on the other hand presented himself as the odd ball out. His black bowl-cut like hair and bushy eyebrows never went unnoticed by anyone present. His personality matched his unique traits and choice of career. Dedicated to his calling, positive on life and always wanting to help others. No wonder he ended up in the police as a detective. Whenever he wasn’t in his uniform, Lee sported the usual longsleeved turtleneck dark green top with very tight jeans. You didn’t need to imagine much since the man workout like a monster in the gym everyday. His lean yet muscled figure showed underneath those clothes easily.

Gaara on the other hand tended to wear the same color palette, black jeans or clean pants with a black t-shirt or a crimson coloured long sleeve shirt depending on the weather. Tonight, the weather was rather cooled to the long sleeve shirt was the choice.

“It’s been too long Naruto! We’ve missed you!” Lee shared with his best smile and almost too perfect white teeth. He hugged the blond lifting him up in the air.

“Lee, put me down!” Naruto protested, looking for some help from his brother.

Gaara just closed his eyes and chose to ignore the entire situation altogether. Where he was more reserved, Lee was his polar opposite. It was always a miracle how they ended up together.

“I can’t breath – “ Those bear hugs would kill him one day…

Gaara sighed. “Lee.”

“I’m just happy to see you.” He lowered the blond back on the floor.

Naruto was hunched forward, his hand resting against Lee’s chest, getting some air back into his lungs. “One day you’re going to kill me Lee.” He let out between breaths.

“Yet it’s always amusing to see.” Gaara teased with a smile, earning him instantly a glare from the blond.

Right on time, Sasuke with a clean pair of navy blue jeans emerged from the kitchen to greet them.

“Sasuke!” Lee walks towards the man, ready to give him the same greeting as Naruto.

Immediately, Sasuke raised his right hand to stop him. No way in hell was he going to survive that. He respected Lee. He just didn’t like anyone hugging him period. “It’s good to see you again Lee.”

Lee stopped in front of him, taking hold of Sasuke’s hand and tightly greeting him with his smile.

“It smells delicious in your house. Can we know what we will be discovering tonight?” Lee asked, inhaling the sweet scent of what he believed to be ginger and chicken.

“I’m amazed it’s not ramen.” Gaara shared as he walked towards the kitchen.

“Hey! Ramen’s awesome!” Naruto pouted. How could anybody discard ramen so easily!?

“Wine and ramen don’t go together dobe.” Sasuke smirked at his boyfriend.

“No fair! Don’t gang up on me.” He whined, wrapping his arm behind Sasuke’s neck.

Lee was already in the kitchen, eyeing the almost finished meal that stood in the various pans. Closing his eyes, he inhaled the ingredients closer and looked back at Sasuke.

“You made Yakitori?”

“Hn.”

“Your mother’s recipe correct?”

“Hn.”

“Thank you very much Sasuke.”

“The bastard only makes it on special occasions, it’s really good.” Naruto pitched in.

“Better than ramen?” Gaara asked, walking over to his boyfriend.

Naruto paused, opening his mouth, but then decided it might be wise to think before answering that question. “How about some wine people?” Naruto unlatched himself from Sasuke’s side and proceeded to open one of the two red wines they had for the evening as well as a non-alcoholic apple cider bottle for Lee. It’s not that Lee didn’t like alcohol but he preferred to always be 100% wherever he was in case he was called him for work.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto’s dismissal of the question. He’ll definitely pay for that later.

* * *

They sat down at the kitchen table and enjoyed the home cooked meal Sasuke prepared for the occasion. Without even realizing it, almost 2 hours passed and now they were enjoying their drinks and catching up on each other’s lives.

“So how’s the third book going Naruto?” Lee asked enthusiastically.

Naruto finished pouring the non-alcoholic apple cider in his guest’s glass. “I actually finished drawing it all. I just need to do the digital version now, proof-read it and send it to Jiraiya.” He put the bottle back in the middle of the table and sat down.

“You still draw first?” Gaara let out a bit surprised.

Naruto nodded.

“Isn’t… doesn’t that mean double the work?” Lee asked, confused.

“Yup!” Naruto cheerfully replied to that.

“Dobe here never likes to do things easy.” Sasuke smirked at his boyfriend, earning him a quick glare from the blond.

“True. He’s with you after all.” Gaara shot back amicably, much to his own lover’s distress.

“Gaara!” Lee’s mouth dropped open, staring at the redhead, then across the table seeing the other pair chuckling at the exchange.

It was their usual banter over the years. Even after three years of being with Gaara and having many get together, Lee still had trouble knowing when their conversation was friendly instead of plainly insulting each other. Clearly the situation right now was a good example.  
  
“God I never get tired of seeing your reaction!” Naruto laughed so hard he had to place his hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t spit out some of the red wine he hadn’t swallowed yet.

Sasuke was quick with a napkin in hand and holding it on Naruto’s mouth, “How many times to I need to remind you to swallow everything before opening your mouth again!”

Lee and Gaara blinked before bursting into laughter, which Naruto soon followed leaving a perplexed Sasuke not understanding what just transpired at their table.

“What the hell?” He was now officially offended.

Naruto had his left hand on his mouth, his other hand gripped Sasuke’s shoulder, barely able to contain his laughter when he saw his boyfriend’s stoic face and how confused he was.

Gaara quickly regained his composure, “I would have expected that from him,” He pointed at his brother, “Not from you. _Ever._ ”

“Hey, I usually do swallow everything.” Naruto was definitely offended now.

Sasuke froze. Slowly replaying the conversation of the last 2 minutes in his head combined with Naruto’s last statement. Fuck. “Not how I meant it.” He looked to his side, “And you are not helping right now.”

“Hey! Even Lee thought the same as us.” He pointed between himself and his brother. “Besides, you managed to make Gaara laugh which is a near impossible thing to do. So enjoy the moment bastard!”

“I am sooo sorry!” Lee’s face burned red, lowering his head in at the edge of the table.

Gaara shook his head in disbelief, all while patting his boyfriend’s back in reassurance. He shot a warning glance across the table that both would clearly understand. _Knock it off!_

“All right all right, I’ll behave.” He raised his hands in the air, surrendering before his brother.

Sasuke on the other hand couldn’t help but smile as he took another sip of his wine. As much as these types of gathering used to annoy him to no end, he found it enjoyable over time. At least it was in Naruto’s family. There was never a dull moment in those family gatherings. It’s what made life more interesting.

“So Lee, how’s it going with that new partner?” Naruto asked as he finished cleaning the spilled wine on the table with a napkin.

“Tenten is amazing! Whatever the situation she’s got my back and I got hers. It does help in our investigations that she’s very informed about weapons.”

“It’s good to know someone has your back when you’re out there now.” Naruto replied.

Being a cop was never easy, but trusting your partner was a question between life and death. His previous partner was more of a pencil pusher and it nearly got Lee killed during a takedown. Naruto remembered Gaara calling him, panicking when he heard about Lee being shot while on duty.

“She can hold her own compared to the old asshole.” Gaara pitched in. He wasn’t very found of the human race to begin with, but that man was an asshole. The redhead had been very emotionally unstable about Lee getting shot, so he ended up punching Lee’s former partner right in the face at the hospital. Luckily no charges were brought against him. “Good thing too with what happened a week ago.”

Naruto and Sasuke looked at Gaara confused.

Lee raised his hand in the air to catch their attention and explain. “Last week, we actually busted a guy for drug trafficking. Turns out he wasn’t alone. The suspect had another man with him who decided to actually charge at us with an axe…” He was used to being attacked to a certain degree, came with the job description. But an axe was actually a first for him. “Tenten acted before I even had the chance to say freeze and tasered the guy.”

“So the guy was probably a buyer then and freaked out?” Naruto concluded.

“That’s the thing, he wasn’t. When we searched the house we found a 10-year-old girl locked in the basement closet. We were about to call Children Services when Special Victim’s showed up at the place.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “Why were they there?”

Everyone knew that each squad had their own specialty. This was a simple drug bust so why were the others called in when they had just made the discovery?

“Turns out my coke dealer was auctioning off his own kid on the Internet and when we busted the place we also interrupted their transaction. SVU told us that they finally tracked down the IP address to make the arrest and save the kid.”

Naruto flinched a little when he heard the last part, which didn’t go unnoticed by his brother.

“Fortunately no harm came to the girl. Doctors gave her a clean bill of health. She was taken in by Shizune from Social Services to find her a good home.”

“Shizune got called?” Naruto even surprised himself when he asked the question out loud.

Lee nodded. “You know her?”

He unintentionally lowered his eyes towards the middle of the table. “Yeah, she was Ba-chan’s right hand in the place. I’m just surprised she’s still there after all these years.” It was a known fact that those who worked in those types of jobs were hard to keep any employee long-term because of the nature of their work.

Naruto slid his hands under the table, laying them flat on each knee. Sasuke noticed Gaara taking a deep breath, his own gaze focused on his brother. When he glanced over to Naruto, he noticed the hands under the table. He placed his hand on top of Naruto’s, gently squeezing it. Naruto quickly looked over to Sasuke before smiling softly.

“If Shizune has her, then that little girl is in very good hands.” Naruto looked back at Lee.

“She shouldn’t fall between the cracks with them in charge.” Gaara added his two cents.

“Between the cracks? What do you mean?” Les asked, puzzled. The question was innocent in itself, but with it came some unwanted memories, especially for the blond.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “When… when we were in the system – “ He paused, trying to find the right words. “A lot of kids ended up in bad homes. But when Ba-chan took charge she made sure no more kids would be… like us… kids won’t be forgotten anymore.” His voice nearly cracked at the end.

“I pity the idiots who try something while Miss Senju is in charge. That woman can be very frightening…” Lee paused, something clicked in his head, thinking back on the surname Naruto used minutes ago. _Ba-chan_? Could Ba-chan be … “Ba-chan… she’s Miss Senju? The case worker that helped you and Gaara 12 years ago?”

“That’s why the little girl is in good hands.” Gaara stepped in, his tone of voice firm.

Lee looked at his boyfriend, noticing his gaze shifting back to the blond. That’s when he picked up on it. “I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to bring up bad – “ Lee let out when he realized the subject had turned into dangerous territory. The last thing he wanted was to make Naruto talk about something he clearly wasn’t at ease yet even after all these years.

Naruto looked Lee in the eyes with assurance. “Lee it’s ok.” Naruto repeated softly. He just wanted to change the subject. Luckily for him, Sasuke had an excellent idea.

“Usuratonkachi, get the dessert out while I put the dirty dishes away.” Sasuke teased him, earning him an immediate glare from the blond.

Naruto’s body relaxed at the familiar insult. “Bastard.” He let out with a smile before getting up from the table and walking in the kitchen.

Sensing the lingering tension in the air, Gaara looked back at Sasuke, “What about your company Sasuke? Any new developments?” Gaara asked, taking a sip of his wine again.

Lee happily jumps in. “That’s right you had this big deal on the table!”

“I finally signed the contract with Manda Corporation last Monday.”

“Manda? Isn’t that also the name of hotel chain here?”

“Hn. He wanted to upgrade his entire Marketing strategy and tools for all 12 properties amongst other things. It was a sub-company of Manda that we partnered with by creating Marketing Automation Software. In doing so, Manda signed his 12 hotels for the next three years.”

“That’s amazing Sasuke! Congratulations!” Lee cheered on, raising his glass of non-alcoholic apple cider to the middle of the table.

“Thank you.”

At the same moment, Naruto arrived with the cake and dessert plates. He looked at Lee curiously and at the raised glasses.

“Something I missed?” He asked, setting the plates down one at a time.

“Sasuke was telling us the good news about his big contract.” Lee repeated enthusiastically.

“If I am not mistaken, you have exceeded your father’s expectations?”

Sasuke nodded.

His father had strongly suggested turning a profit within the first year, which meant in Uchiha terms doubling it instead. Luckily when he made their pitch for Manda’s contract, it was successful. He might not have shown it, but the immense pressure to surpass what his father asked of him and it was stressing him out lately. Now he could relax a bit and actually spend more time at home with Naruto.

“We actually had a celebration last night about it at Uchiha Corporation. Naruto actually got to briefly meet Orochimaru.”

When he heard the name, he almost dropped the last plate on the table.

“S-Sorry, let me go grab the last bottle of red.” Naruto let out, walking over to the kitchen counter to grab the bottle in question. In reality, he didn’t really want to participate much in _that_ conversation. Last night’s unexpected encounter left him still shaken…

“You brought Naruto?” Lee asked, surprised by the gesture. Sasuke was very much like his own lover when it came to introducing people at their work.

“Orochimaru saw a few designs Naruto did for us 3 months ago. He said he wanted to put a face to the name.”

“I thought him helping you out was a one-time thing?” Lee asked, remembering clearly both men saying mixing business and pleasure wasn’t a good idea.

“It’s temporary, he’s training one of my employees. After that’s done, it will be over.”

Naruto came back with his own glass full and set the bottle on the table. He sat down at the table and took a few good sips of his wine.

“You okay?” Gaara asked his brother.

“I’m good, must be the alcohol.” He covered with a lie. He hated lying, but it’s not like it’s a conversation to be had in front of others.

Sasuke gently placed his hand on his boyfriend’s forehead. “You’re not hot. Maybe it’s because of last night’s food.” Sasuke let out, sitting back in his chair.

Gaara and Lee looked at each other before looking back at the other two.

“Bad food?” Lee asked.

“Food poisoning.” Sasuke corrected.

“Food poisoning? I’m surprised you are already recovered. It usually takes a good 24h-48 hours to get better from that.” Lee commented.

Naruto froze. _Fuck_.

“You know me, I always heal faster whatever bug I catch!” He replied, grinning at his friend while scratching nervously the back of his head.

Sasuke cocked his head towards Naruto, “Dobe here slept over 12 hours.”

“Then I am very happy you are doing better Naruto.” Lee cheerfully told them with a smile.

“How about dessert guys?” Naruto held the knife in the air, putting on his best smile.

* * *

When the clock hit midnight, everyone was set to end the night and go their separate ways.

Gaara was already in the car, buckled in and waiting for Lee to finish packing the box Naruto had given them carefully in the trunk. When Lee finally sat in the driver’s seat, he buckled his own seatbelt but didn’t turn the key in the ignition just yet.

“What is it Lee?” Gaara asked him. He could feel the insecurity of his lover clear as day. Something was bothering him and most likely it was linked to one of their conversations they had a dinner.

“I’m sorry.” Lee’s tone will filled with regret and guilt.

Gaara sighed. Sometimes his boyfriend was really an idiot who truly worried too much for no reason.

“What happened back there – “ He paused, trying to choose his words carefully. Although he had made his peace with it, he knew that Naruto was far from being over it all. “My brother knows you weren’t digging for _his_ information.”

“Still, I clearly made him uncomfortable.”

“It’s progress Lee. A few years ago he would have left the house at the mention of it.” Gaara replied. He knew Naruto had his demons and had been very vocal about not wanting to talk about his past if necessary. “This time he actually engaged in the conversation.”

“Sometimes I wish I could help him, help you too.”

“Naruto’s… he’s got more history than me and he’ll deal with it on his own terms, just like I did. Sasuke’s with him and if anyone can survive Naruto, it’s him. Just like you helped me heal from mine.” Gaara softly told him, placing his hand on top of Lee’s hand.

Lee looked at his boyfriend with glassy eyes, his lips quivering at the implication. Even if they had been together for 3 years now, he always felt mushy whenever Gaara spoke to him with such kindness.

Gaara stared at him, sighing.

“Now get us home so I can ravage you.” The redhead’s tone sensually whispered.

Lee’s eyes beamed with happiness, turning the key in the ignition and driving away.

* * *

The rain poured down heavily, hitting the glass window with a soft sound. Naruto sat comfortably on the large windowstill, watching each water drop slide down before eventually hitting the surface below. The scene was mesmerizing. In a strange sense, the current weather was actually appeasing to him.

He tilted his wine glass towards his lips, savouring the last sip of red wine for the evening. He always loved the after taste light smoke it left in his throat. He settled the glass on the small corner before turning back his attention to the outside. Sasuke sat opposite of Naruto, their feet intertwining together.

“You know Lee didn’t mean to –“

“I know. It’s ok.” Naruto hadn’t meant to cut him off, but it always bothered him how those who knew partially about his childhood, tiptoed around the subject. Sure it’s not a subject he liked to talk about, but when people started to feel bad about it, it made him more frustrated at the situation.

Naruto continued to watch outside. He knew Sasuke was observing him, trying to assess if everything was indeed okay.

“Ne Sasuke, did you know that Ba-chan was actually the first adult to explain to me that my dad passed away?”

Sasuke shifted his gaze to Naruto’s eyes, surprised by the revelation in a way. Although he always wanted to know more about Naruto’s past, especially with his history in the foster care system, he never pushed the subject too much. Naruto had made it very clear before they even starting their relationship that it was hard for him to share that part of him and that he might never tell him anything about it. So whenever Naruto felt at ease, he would share some bits and pieces and it warmed Sasuke’s heart to know Naruto trusted him enough to confide in him this way.

“She must be old now?” He questioned. If his math was correct, Naruto was 5 years old when he lost his father and she would have to be at least 20 to 25 years to be at the bottom of Children Services.

Naruto chuckled, knowing all too well if Tsunade heard him say that she would pummel him to the ground. She never liked anyone talking about her age period.

“She must be nearing her 50’s by now. That woman is never going to retire.”

“By the way you talk about her even Gaara, she was one of the good ones?” He actually dared to ask, seeing how Naruto wasn’t tense about speaking of her. Just his eyes focusing on what was going on outside instead of looking back at him.

“She actually kicked the cop outside of the interview room because they brought me to the station but nobody was telling me why. Ba-chan made sure I was okay and she didn’t lie to me either. I know her boss scolded her later, but – “ He paused, remembering the determination in those light brown eyes. “She made sure that I would be okay after that. It’s thanks to her stubbornness that I met Gaara and ended up with dad, Iruka in the end.” He turned around face Sasuke with a gentle smile.

Before Sasuke knew it, those bright blue eyes changed, glazing over. Was it lust? He could only assume at this point before his lover crawled over to him capturing his lips in one swift movement. His eyes widened slightly, surprised by the sudden change in the air. He could feel Naruto’s tongue begging to enter his own mouth and he obliged.

Naruto’s hand firmly gripped his right shoulder, helping him stabilize his own bodyweight as he shifted his legs on the bench so he wouldn’t fall on the floor, one between Sasuke’s legs, and the other steadily on the side of the bench. Sasuke’s hands instinctively reached beneath the blond’s shirt, caressing his chest and tone muscles. A low moan escaped from Naruto. He rested his head against Sasuke’s chest, lightly panting. His body trembled when he felt those slender fingers twist and pinch his nipples.

“Bed. Now.” Naruto was breathing hard, clearly aroused. He wanted nothing more than to straddle his boyfriend right then and there.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side. He was happy that Naruto was so receptive to his minor ministrations, yet it felt different to have him be so _aggressive_. Not that he minded. In all their time together, it was usually him who took charge, but having Naruto want him that way now, it brought his dormant cock fully to life, painfully wanting to be released from the confinement of his pants.

Not waiting one more second, Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar, dragging him down the hallway to their bedroom. When they reached the bed, the blond simply pushed his lover onto it without any warning. Sasuke landing on his back, his legs still dangling right at the edge of the bed.

“Naruto what the –“ Sasuke protested. It wasn’t until his dark eyes locked with the predatory blue eyes that he stopped talking altogether.

Naruto wasted no time, unbuttoning Sasuke’s pants as he looked at Sasuke’s flushed face. It was rare to catch his boyfriend off-guard but when he did, those red cheeks and dark eyes gazing to the side just turned him on even more. He didn’t want to think about tonight’s conversation or his past. He just wanted to feel and live this moment with his boyfriend.

Naruto slid off Sasuke’s pants and boxer’s without a hitch, releasing the fully hard cock from its clothed prison. Naruto quickly took off his own clothes, not really caring where they landed in their room. Right now he was more focused on having Sasuke panting and screaming out his name. He kneeled in between Sasuke’s legs, spreading them apart as one hand gripped the base of his lover’s cock, while his other went towards the floor underneath the bed. He searched for that spare box they always kept just in case they were out of reach of their night tables. He finally flipped the lid of the box, his hands feeling for the small tube-like bottle within it.

While he was trying to open the lube with only one hand, he returned his attention to Sasuke’s twitching cock. He stuck his tongue out, licking the tip before taking the member in his mouth, sucking on it gently. Although he couldn’t see Sasuke’s face right now, he could hear the sharp intake of breath and his hands clenching the sheets near his hips. He took more and more of the hard member; softly hitting the back of his throat while his hands massaged the ball sack, his finger, taunting the small hole behind it but never pushing pass the ring. Sasuke began bucking his hips up, matching Naruto’s pace. Small moans began to escape the raven-haired mouth, much to blond’s pleasure. He knew Sasuke was nearing his orgasm, so he had to act fast.

When he finally managed to get the cap off the lube, he gave one last suck to Sasuke’s cock, before pulling back completely and pouring the cold liquid on top of it. Sasuke shivered at the sudden change from wet hot to cold. His eyes snapped opened and what he saw made him completely forget why he was getting annoyed in the first place.

Naruto climbed stealthily on the bed, facing his lover, he positioned himself just over Sasuke’s cock, slowly pushing the tip into his own hole. He closed his eyes, feeling the tightening and burning sensation of barely prepping himself. He didn't care because the burning sensation chased away thoughts he'd rather leave in the past.

“Fuck, Sas!” He groaned, pushing himself down in one quick movement. It definitely hurt, but feeling Sasuke so deep in him, he knew he wouldn’t feel the pain soon enough.

Sasuke sat up, shuddering as he felt his cock entering Naruto so quickly. He hadn’t expected that out of his partner tonight. He grabbed Naruto’s hips, tilting his head upwards to kiss Naruto. He wanted to move, but his mind was clear enough to know it was most likely painful right now for the blond. They stayed locked in passionate kiss, tongues battling for dominance a minute or two before Sasuke felt Naruto roll his hips slowly. Naruto wrapped his hands around Sasuke’s neck, trying to steady himself.

“Sas..suke.” He panted more and more with each thrust he felt.

“Naruto… God your tight tonight…” Sasuke whispered against the blond’s ear. Feeling Naruto riding him like that was amazing, but his own need to take control was rising as well.

“Harder…” Naruto begged Sasuke, his nails digging into the Uchiha’s back.

That was the last straw for Sasuke. In one swift and previse movement, he pivoted Naruto to the side, switching their position. Now Naruto laid flat on his back and on the bed while Sasuke was now on top of him, his feet planted right at the edge of the bed. No longer confined, he thrusted forward and deeper into Naruto, hitting more easily the blond’s prostate inside.

“Aah! Soo. Good! Fuck…” Naruto moaned more loudly, locking his legs around Sasuke’s waist hoping to have his lover deeper in him.

Sasuke leaned down, licking the blond’s jawbone. Just seeing Naruto this way, beneath him in such a vulnerable way, turned him on even more.

“So tight. Aah..” Sasuke tried to muffle his own moans.

He could feel the hardened cock rubbing on both their stomach. Steadying himself so he wouldn’t fall off the bed, he gripped Naruto’s engorged member and began matching the pace of his thrusts, squeezing it tightly when he felt Naruto near his own climax. His last thrusts were deeper, harder, suddenly the warm liquid shot out across their stomach. Naruto’s legs tightened like a vice grip on him, sending him into his own climax seconds later.

Although he lay on top of Naruto, he supported his upper bodyweight with his elbows and hands pressed up against the mattress. He looked at his lover’s face, completely drained of energy, his eyes closed while he regained his breath.

“You okay?” Sasuke asked, brushing the drenched sweat golden locks out of Naruto’s face.

“Mmmm.” He leaned up, kissing Sasuke softly on the lips.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, catching their breath as they cuddled and kissed. Naruto slide one of his hands down Sasuke’s back, right between his butt cheeks, teasing his index finger at the entrance. It immediately drew a sharp inhale from the Uchiha.

“We have lots of time to catch up on bastard.” Naruto huskily whispered in his ear.

Sasuke smirked at his taunt. Yeah, they had an entire day of just fucking each other and he was more than happy to enjoy every damn minute of it.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn’t expect this chapter to be this long, once I unblocked things poured out! I was happy to finally introduce Gaara and Lee at least. 
> 
> Honestly, I suck at comedy but I laughed my ass off when I wrote that scene, you know, swallow everything *cough cough*. To be honest, these were the type of funny conversation I had often when I hosted dinner at my place with my friends. 
> 
> I have written like 3 lemons in my life, so I hope this was to your liking. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story so far!
> 
> **QUESTION FOR MY READERS? Would any of you be interested in a short side-story of how Gaara and Lee met?**
> 
> Thank you for those who continue to comment, I really appreciate them.
> 
> Ookima


	4. Typical Mondays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke follows up with Neji concerning the contract with Orochimaru while Naruto meets Jiraiya from Gama Publishing for the upcoming contracts and publishing his third book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to Dhampir (Dhampire) who continues to be my beautiful muse and beta for this story. You are my biggest supporter in this fic. ^_^
> 
> _Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it._

Monday morning arrived a little too quickly to Sasuke’s taste. He would have most definitely taken the entire week off and stayed locked up in their house to continue ravaging his boyfriend. He couldn’t remember when was the last time they actually just spent time together without it being just a quick fuck in the shower or hasty goodbye kiss at the door.

Sasuke looked at his reflection in the mirror, adjusting his black necktie, his jacket perfectly hanging on the hanger hooked on the back of the bathroom door. He looked down to his watch; he still had an hour before meeting Neji at the office to debrief about Friday night’s party and the upcoming meetings with Orochimaru.

He heard the subtle click of the doorknob being turned, the bathroom door opened revealing an almost naked Naruto. The blond walked in wearing only his boxers, a bright orange towel hanging over his tanned shoulders, partially covering his full tattoo.

“Taking a shower?”

“Yeah, I’m meeting with the old pervert to figure out the timeline and marketing for Kurama’s third book release.” Naruto answered, walking over to his lover. He rested his chin on the Uchiha’s shoulder, looking at both of their reflections in the mirror.

“We will both be busy again this month.” Sasuke let out, slightly discouraged at their current working situation.

“Well yeah but don’t forget I’m training Hinata.” He reminded his boyfriend. Sure when they were at the Uchiha office, they were very professional around each other but at least they could still eat lunch together.

“Hn.”

Naruto gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before walking over to the shower. It wasn’t until Naruto placed his towel on the heating towel rack that he noticed some scratches on his lover. Sasuke’s eyes narrowed on the marks on blond’s upper arms. It looked as though someone scratched or grabbed him rather roughly. Had he been that rough with him yesterday?

Naruto was about to get in when he noticed Sasukes puzzled reflection in the glass, prompting him to turn around. “Something wrong Sas?” Naruto asked, his hand still on the glass door handle.

Sasuke walked up to him, immediately his hands touched the small bloody scratches, now dried.

“Did I do that to you?” Sasuke let out, worried that he had done that to Naruto. He wasn’t necessarily against being a little rough during sex, but Naruto had told him at the beginning of their relationship that it was something he preferred to not experience since it reminded him of a particular foster home that didn’t end well.

Naruto tilted his head, confused. “Do what?”

“This. Naruto.” He dragged the blond back in front of the mirror, showing him clear as day the marks on the upper arm in reflection of the mirror.

Naruto didn’t understand at first. He scrunched his eyes trying to figure out how that happened and then it hit him; the night he met Orochimaru. At first he froze, feeling a cold shiver run down to his spine. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to dismiss it quickly and hoping Sasuke wouldn’t notice.

“You didn’t do this Sasuke.” He chuckled, reassuring his boyfriend “I threw up a lot the night of the party and I probably scratched myself.” He covered; giving a half-truth, hoping Sasuke would accept his explanation and not press the matter further.

The raven man didn’t know what to make of it. It’s not that he didn’t believe Naruto, it just felt like it wasn’t the complete truth. Then again, Naruto wasn’t known to deliberately lie either. It’s one of the reasons why he loved the idiot so much.

“You’re going to be late if you keep standing here.” Naruto reminded him, changing the subject entirely.

Sasuke looked at his watch again. _Shit_. With traffic being a bitch, he had to leave fast if he was going to be on time at the office. He grabbed his jacket from the back of the door, slipping it on with ease before walking back to Naruto for a quick kiss on the lips.

“See you tonight!” Naruto cheerfully said as Sasuke walked out of the bathroom.

With his boyfriend now gone, Naruto couldn’t help himself; he walked closer to the mirror and got a closer look at those scratches. Luckily they would be gone within another day or two and so would any memories of that night.

* * *

When the elevator doors opened, Sasuke found himself face to face with Neji. His Marketing Manager handed him a medium cup of coffee, which Sasuke eyed suspiciously.

“What happened?” Sasuke said warily as he stepped out of the elevator. He could easily count on one hand the number of times that the Hyuga greeted him in advance with a bribe in hand. So the question now was who fucked up this time?

“Best we talk in your office, door closed.” Neji replied calmly. After working together for the past year and a little help from Naruto, he had quickly learned that it was easier to inform Sasuke of a problematic situation before he found out about it later and confronted you about why he wasn’t informed.

Sasuke sighed. This is exactly why he hated office parties and Monday mornings.

He reached out, accepting Neji’s bribe before walking down the hallway, past the dozen cubicles of his employees and conference room until they reached his office in the back. He walked behind his desk, putting his coffee to the right of his working area before reaching in his laptop bag to take out his laptop and opening it on his desk. He sat in his chair and waited for Neji to explain the problem at hand. Neji sat down across from Sasuke, coffee still in his hand, completely at ease under the watchful eyes of his boss.

“Like any party, there was a small problem.” He began, noticing Sasuke narrowing his eyes at him. “Uzumaki drank too much.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, a little surprised that this was about Naruto.

Neji lightly chuckled at the reaction. “The other _Uzumaki_. Karin.” He specified. “Two of Orochimaru’s employees were getting a little too close for comfort in her state. I ended up renting her a room at the hotel next door to sleep it off. Alone. So don’t be surprised to see a 200$ charge on the company’s credit card for that date.”

“Is that all?” Strangely enough, Sasuke expected far worse… “Why the coffee then?”

“We might have underestimated how fast Manda wants to move. Which in turn might affect our original planning and how much of Naruto’s help we’ll need throughout this first part.”

That certainly caught Sasuke’s attention. “How fast?” Originally they had planned for Naruto to continue coaching Hinata for the next month and together they would build the design portfolio for Manda Hotels, since Naruto still had a few projects that demanded his immediate attention with Gama Publishing. It’s not like he had a lot of time to spare at the moment.

“They want to start next week.”

Sasuke closed his eyes momentarily, exasperated. Their original planning was to start next month not next week. He knew Orochimaru’s reputation in the business world. The man had purchased his first hotel at the age of 20 and within a year he had tripled its profits, he continued to press forward, expanding his empire throughout Japan and becoming one of the 50 richest men in the country. He even got bored and started to buy smaller start-up companies and growing them at the same speed of his hotel properties. It was no secret that when he wanted something, he went after it _hard_.

“We both know Naruto can adapt to any last minute situation Sasuke.” He shot back. “ Don’t you remember Mr. Wanatabe? If it wasn’t for his interference we would have lost that contract.”

Sasuke gritted his teeth, remembering how that new hire from 6 months ago had almost cost him the contract he spent 2 months of his time signing on.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_The bastard was lucky that he actually had the day off from Gama Publishing to stop by Uchiha Corporation in order to give him the folder he forgotten at home due to recent fuck-up he had to deal with at work. A certain employee who didn’t obey the rules or chain of commands._

_As he stepped out of the elevator, he made a quick stop to the bathroom before heading down the hallway to Sasuke’s office. He knocked 3 times before pushing the door open, revealing both Sasuke and Neji behind it._

_“Here’s the folder Uchiha-san.” Naruto playfully said his last name. He loved how it rolled on the tip of his tongue. He walked over to the desk, handing in the folder to Sasuke before turning his attention to Neji. “Uzumaki Naruto. Pleasure to meet you.” He extended his hand towards the brunette._

_Neji stood up, taking Naruto’s hand and gave a firm shake. He didn’t know much about his boss’s personal life, but he had mentioned his boyfriend and his skills during certain lunch meetings. “Hyuga Neji. Pleasure.”_

_“Neji’s my Marketing Manager.” Sasuke clarified. He had spoken to Naruto about the few trusted employees he worked with. Now he could at least put a face to the name._

_“Graphic’s Designer, Manga Artist, Senior Editor and freelancer.” He chipped in for fun. It wasn’t everyday he got to throw all his titles around._

_Neji grew intrigued, looking more carefully at Naruto. “Are you general or specialized?”_

_Naruto tilted his head, surprised by the question. People usually didn’t care much of his so-called title. “Actually both. I just veered to the manga side because of the variety of styles and storylines.”_

_Neji glanced over to Sasuke, almost as if asking permission. Somehow the Uchiha knew what Neji was going to ask and he wasn’t too warm about the idea._

_“You say you freelance too?” He wanted to be sure._

_Naruto scrunched his eyebrows. He didn’t know where this line of questioning was going._

_“I’d like to show Uzumaki-san that project.” Neji looked back at Sasuke, dead serious._

_“What project?” Naruto let out, curious as to why Sasuke was almost glaring a hole through his employee for even daring to ask this of him._

_“No.” Sasuke answered firmly. He always told himself that he would never work with someone he dated. As the boss he had had a few problems within their workplace when employees dated and ended up breaking up later on. It was annoying._

_“Is it about that woman you fired on Monday?” Naruto remembered Sasuke coming home, seething with anger. Something about her sending in the drafts directly at the client and disregarding his strict parameters. The only way he’d managed to finally calm him was giving him head in the shower as a distraction. A happy Uchiha was better than a grumpy one when going to bed._

_“No.”_

_“Yes.”_

_Naruto blinked; confused at the different answers he received simultaneously._

_“Sasuke.” Neji’s tone was firm. He wasn’t going to change his mind. It was rare for him to address Sasuke by his first name, but when they were without any other employees, Sasuke permitted it out of respect._

_“Shit.” Sasuke cursed, pinching the top his nose, annoyed by the entire situation. “Debrief him and let’s see from there.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he could clearly see that idiotic grin forming on his boyfriend’s lips. The idiot would never let him live it down if he was going to save the day. “Behave Uzumaki.”_

_Naruto grinned. “Yes sir.”_

_For the next half hour, Neji went over the basics of the project with Naruto at his desk. The blond had asked for a notepad to take notes along the way. Carefully showcasing him the client’s business portfolio and the fact that he wanted to market his biggest seller. The task was simple, provide a variety of design templates for different platforms, whether it was digital, print or television. Naruto scribbled away in the notepad as Neji continued explaining the client’s background and future needs._

_They were interrupted when Neji’s desk phone rang._

_“Yes?”_

**_“Meet me in the Conference Room. Now.”_ **

_“Something wrong Uchiha-san?”_

**_“_ ** **_Mr. Wanatabe.”_ **

_“I’ll be there in a minute.” Of all the times for that client to come here in person, they were in trouble._

_“Everything alright Hyuga-san?” Naruto asked, noticing the man get paler after hanging up the phone._

_“Can you stay here? I need to deal with an urgent matter with Uchiha-san.” Neji asked a bit nervously. He didn’t want the blond to walk away now since they had only scratched the surface, but he couldn’t stall that particular client either._

_“Sure.”_

_Neji tapped the shoulder of the employee next to him. A young thin woman dressed in a sleeveless white blouse and black knee length skirt. She had long dark blue hair, light lavender eyes, her skin matching almost perfectly that of Neji. Naruto could swear those two were related in some way._

_“Hinata, can you please show to Uzumaki-san the drafts that were rejected please?“ He spoke softly to her, before heading out to the conference room that was next to Sasuke’s office._

_The young woman nodded, a hint of blush slowly appeared on her cheeks when she noticed the blond looking straight at her. Naruto rolled his chair closer to Hinata’s work desk, noticing the different designs she was creating._

_“P-Please don’t mind t-those, I j-just do that in m-my s-spare time…”_

_“These are actually really good Hinata-chan.” He looked closer to the computer screen, the way she placed the colors to match the text style wasn’t that of a beginner trying to make everything flashy. It was logical and really showcased the products in question._

_He wanted to ask the young woman a question, but a loud annoying voice caught his attention at the end of the room. Two men in dark blue suits were walking towards the Conference Room. The older one, composed and confident. The younger one seemed arrogant and that devilish smile on the edge of his lips didn’t bode well with Naruto one bit. Naruto knew which client that was. Whatever strategy Sasuke was planning, it definitely wasn’t going to fly. He grabbed his pad and pen and headed into the Conference Room to join the duo and lend a helping hand._

_The moment Naruto stepped in, all eyes were focused on him, which included a glare from his own boyfriend. When he sat next to Sasuke, a hand quickly wrapped around his wrist, tugging him down harshly._

_“What the fuck idiot?” Sasuke hissed low enough so the clients wouldn’t hear, glaring at the blond. This was business, his business not a fucking college project!_

_“Have a little faith in me bastard.” He whispered into his ear, before facing the clients one more time._

_“Gentlemen, I know you’re here to see the design templates that Uchiha-san and his team assembled before you make the official announcement correct?” Depending on their answer, it would set the tone of their conversation for the next 30 minutes._

_Strangely, it wasn’t the business owner that answered him, but his right-hand man. He simply pushed his glasses a big higher on his nose before locking eyes with Naruto. “Seeing as we were without news from your team for the past 5 days, we wanted to have an update in person.”_

_From the corner of his eyes, Naruto could see that Sasuke was getting pissed and Neji was between wanting to tear the guy’s head off or crawling under a rock. Clearly this wasn’t the first time the so-called right-hand man had been disrespectful._

_“Actually, let me be blunt Mr.. ?” Naruto asked the man before him. But the other one spoke again in his place._

_“Mr. Hachi.”_

_“Sorry but I meant him, not you.” Naruto pointed to the older man, clearly this idiot was having a power trip thinking he would speak to him when he wasn’t the one that needed convincing._

_  
The older gentleman raised his left eyebrow, slightly puzzled at the question. Despite Mr. Hachi clearly taking the lead, the blond young man was speaking to him directly._

_“Watanabe.”_

_“Mr. Wanatabe, let me be blunt here. The person who was in charge of your marketing needs for your project was recently terminated since she was not respecting your initial parameters.”_

_Mentally, Sasuke and Neji gaped. How in the hell could he just inform him like that!_

_“We hired you for the project for your competences! If you can’t deliver then you will pay for that dearly.” Hachi snapped, how could this stupid blond be all smiles, telling them excuses for their poor performances on this project?_

_“As I was saying Mr. Wanatabe – “ Naruto completely ignored the other man and continued as if he’d never spoken. “We at Uchiha Corporation prefer to be transparent of what is happening. After all, honesty is always a welcomed trait when doing business together.” He took out 3 pages from his pads, and slid them over to the clients. “What you see before you is a rough draft of three possibilities for your campaigns. I noticed that you actually offer 3 different types of services to your clients so you might as well advertise accordingly to maximise your conversions on your marketing platforms no?”_

_Sasuke and Neji looked at each other._

_‘When in the hell did he draw those?’ Sasuke wondered. He was barely in the office for an hour. Then he remembered Neji explaining the project as he scribbled on his pad. He’d assumed it was only notes, but clearly he was wrong._

_The room went silent._

_Suddenly Mr. Wanatabe bursted into laughter. “Boy, I like your honesty and the way you think.” He picked up the drafts, eyeing them closely. “These are spot-on what I was looking for. Hell they are better than the initial email the lady sent me. Are you sure you can still meet the original deadline if I approve these?”_

_Naruto looked at his right. “What do you think Uchiha-san, Hyuga-san?”_

_“How much time would you need to complete the masters?”_

_“Give me the Hinata, unlimited espressos and I can finish all three masters by noon tomorrow.” Naruto looked back at the client, calm and collected. “Would that still be to your satisfaction Mr. Wanatabe?”_

_With that concluding on a positive note, Mr. Wanatabe left the Conference Room a happy man, although Mr. Hachi seemed rather furious at how things went. Once they saw the duo step into the elevator, both Uchiha and Hyuga turned and looked at Naruto in dismay._

_“You idiot! I can’t believe you did that.” Sasuke snapped at the blond._

_“Well your idiot just saved you that contract and project. So you better be extra nice to me tomorrow night since I’ll be stuck in my own office working for you.” He teased, sticking his tongue out._

_“How did you know he would accept?” Neji asked. He was quite puzzled about the approach the blond had taken. It shouldn’t have worked._

_“Two things. First, before going to see Sasuke I was in the bathroom. Heard a guy talking to someone on the phone about how he’ll be getting the contract because the stupid Uchiha employee failed at her job. I didn’t associate it with your project until I heard his voice when he walked into the Conference Room.”_

_“What’s the second?” Sasuke asked, he found himself both surprised and intrigued by Naruto’s analyzing methods._

_“You learn to read people fast when you’ve been through the system. It was obvious_ _Mr. Wanatabe is old school and values honesty, the other asshole however, just a greedy fucker._ _” Naruto replied, his eyes darkening as if he remembered something unpleasant._

_“The system?” Neji frowned._

_Before Sasuke could say anything, the blond answered._

_“Foster Care.” He answered in a lower voice. “So, am I hired as your freelancer for this Uchiha-san?” Rapidly changing the subject as he grinned at both young men._

* * *

Finishing his coffee, he tossed it in the trashcan with ease. He leaned back into the chair, smiling at his boss.

“I still can’t believe he pulled that off.” Neji let out. He’d barely met Naruto but he was quickly impressed by how he handled himself and in the process saved their collective asses.

“Hn.”

Obviously, the brunette knew how to interpret that verbal cue. Sasuke had been very adamant of not working with his boyfriend. The man didn’t want to mix business with pleasure after all those problematic situations, but given the situation he unwillingly accepted. It did turn out to be a success in the end. Wanatabe ended up signing on for another year for his other two products, which meant Sasuke was that much closer to meet his yearly projection in revenue.

Coming back to the original topic, “Anko did tell me something else.” Neji shared with him. “If Orochimaru can meet Naruto in person this week, he’s willing to be more flexible on his initial demand.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. That was a rather strange request. He had felt the night of the party that Orochimaru was delighted to meet Naruto however short it had been given the circumstances, but the older man seemed almost obsessed with meeting the blond for some reason.

“Anko said he really loved the artistic side of seeing Naruto’s work.” Neji reassured his boss. Truth be told, he had pretty much the same reaction when Anko called over the weekend to close the matter.

“I’ll check with Naruto tonight if he’s available this week since today he’s meeting with his boss at Gama.”

“Just text me his availability so I can set it up.”

“Anything else I should know about?”

Neji couldn’t help but smile back at the question, which in turn made Sasuke suspicious. “Remember last months potential client? Mr. Sarutobi?”

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, clearly trying to remember the name. “The old man and his grandson?”

Neji nodded.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, exasperated. That meeting had been a disaster altogether… Just hearing that name again made him really hate Mondays.

* * *

Just as he expected, Naruto found himself sitting alone in Jiraiya’s office. His boss was lost, sleeping or had totally forgotten that they had a meeting. It annoyed the hell out of him when it happened, but working at Gama Publishing had its perks.

Although Naruto was the Senior Editor for it’s most popular and best selling series Icha Icha Paradise, he still worked on several side projects. The owner had him quite busy but he enjoyed the fact that the old man respected the fact he wanted to have the liberty of managing his own schedule in order to advance in his own personal projects. Jiraiya didn’t mind as long as the work was done in a timely manner. The young man had proven over and over again his worth which prompted Jiraiya to finally take a chance and invest into Naruto’s first book. A pretty damn good gamble in the end. Naruto’s first book became one of the top 10 sellers in the country within the first month, which in turn earned him a 25% return on the sales.

Annoyed, Naruto finally stood up from the chair, getting ready to leave when the old man finally arrived, completely dishevelled. He waltz in in a pair of washed out jeans, a black t-shirt with bold white letters **‘Epitome of Manliness!’** , his long white hair lazily tied in a ponytail behind his back, leaving long bangs in the front of his face. Clearly it wasn’t enough to hide all those fresh red marks on his neck and collarbone…

“Rough night huh?” Naruto let out, amused at how the old man was desperately trying to hide the marks.

Jiraiya coughed loudly, deliberately choosing not to answer his employee.

“I saw you hired the new Manga Artist.” Naruto asked, noticing the petite blond that wasn’t there last week.

“Ah yes! She’s working on that new project that’s slated to go into production next week actually.“ Jiraiya was happy for the change of subject.

Naruto frowned.

“You hired her for that project?” Naruto’s tone of voice came out more irritated than he intended. The old man had asked for his opinion and sure she was a junior, starting up in the industry but she was far from being able to take the pressure from a big launch of that sort. Jiraiya had poured a lot of his money into it as it was to become a next best seller for sure. Normally Jiraiya reserved that for either him or Shino since they were used to working under pressure.

“She’s very capable brat! Besides I remember someone who boasted about being the best out there and to give him a chance.” He pointed towards the blond arrogantly. “And you turned out to be a success.”

Naruto snickered at the comment.

“Enough about that.” Jiraiya said, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his desk entangling his hands and fingers together as he watched Naruto with intensity. “Have you finished your third book?”

Naruto grinned, bringing the bag he’d settled to the side of his chair onto his knees. He slipped out an inch thick folder and dropped in on the desk with a loud thud. Jiraiya blinked, taking a few seconds to fully understand the situation. He opened it, his fingers gently touching the first draft of the Nine-Tails Fox sitting on a rock overlooking the large forest. He could always feel the strokes of the pencils used when his index finger trailed the black contour of the fox’s tails.

“You do know I need the digital version right?” As much as he loved seeing Naruto’s raw talent in drawing, he needed digital for mass production.

“I may be blond, but I’m not an idiot.” He shot back, taking out a USB stick from the side pocket and sliding it across the desk to the old man.

Jiraiya took his time looking through a dozen sheets before finally closing the folder again, giving it back to Naruto. He knew the blond only brought it to work as a preview to what he’d digitally drawn in the end.

“I’ll have Shino double-check that everything is up to standard.” He told the young man, before grabbing the USB stick. “Word is people are excited for the new release. It’s predicted to be as popular as your first two. If you continue like this you’ll buy a second house soon.” He told him mockingly.

“I do like the money, but –“ He took a moment to say the right words. “I’m doing it for my dad.” He smiled softly, almost sorrowfully.

Jiraiya’s eyes softened. The young blond man sitting in front of him reminded him a lot about an old acquaintance of his.

“You father would be proud of you.” It was rare for the old man to praise an employee on a more personal level, but Naruto had grown on him since walking through his doors. He could only hope these words of encouragement would be of comfort to the boy.

“Thank you…”

* * *

By the time Sasuke finally got home that night, the lights in the house were closed. A clear indication that his boyfriend was either asleep or working in his office. It’s not like he could blame him, it was already 9 o’clock. He quietly took off his shoes, setting aside his laptop bag on the entrance bench before walking up to the kitchen counter. He noticed a large bowl with a plastic see-through cover with a note sticking to it.

**_Welcome home bastard! Didn’t know when you’d actually be home so here’s dinner in case you didn’t eat. My dad’s recipe! ;)_ **

Sasuke smiled at the gesture. Naruto had made for him a fresh tomato salad with red chopped red onions, fresh herbs (basil and oregano) and some sliced bocconcini. He had been in meetings all day, trying to figure out with Neji the new schedules for those implicated in the Manda Contract since Orochimaru was very clear about wanting to move quickly ahead with their Marketing Plan. It was fairly easy to refocus those implicated, except for Naruto. Since Naruto was employed as a freelancer, getting him to adjust to this tight schedule might prove difficult. He even had to push back his monthly meeting with Itachi.

He took off the plastic dome, grabbing the chopsticks and headed down the hallway. Knowing the blond, he was cooped up in his office, drawing away. When he reached the door, he noticed the flickering lights under the door followed by some soft instrumental music in the background.

Naruto had this habit of listening to music depending on his mood and drawings at that precise moment. Right now he could hear the sounds of Traditional Chinese Music; the harp strings being played accompanied the flute. He never listen to anything in particular from a single musician, it was simply one of those YouTube videos that played for hours.

He knocked two times on the door, before turning the doorknob, opening the door. The former bedroom turned home office measured 10 feet wide by 12 feet deep; the horizontal two-pane window was perfectly aligned in the middle of the wall and opposite of the bedroom door, with closed black curtains covering it. It wasn’t a typical color for the blond, but Naruto had explained that on days he had migraines, the light only amplified them.

On the left side of the office, there was a two-place sofabed; he often used it to either lay down on it while reading or catching quick naps when he was working 60-80 hours a week. In the upper left corner, there was a small black wooden table with a single drawer and lower shelf next to it with and orange folded blanket, and a small white pillow tucked beneath it. Just above the sofabed, hung all 9 of his personally drawn Tailed Beasts, each in a glass black edged frame.

  
  
On the right side, Naruto’s L-shaped executive desk took the upper right corner. It was crafted with dark maple wood, with a laminated finish. He had installed his iMac with a 27-inch screen against the window wall, not wanting to have those light reflection during the day. Anything that was technological was on that side of the desk, while the right side of it there was a high hutch, with several manga books stacked on top of each other, past projects he’d worked on since being with Gama. Underneath the desk were two drawers where he kept his drawing materials, pads and current open contracts.

  
  
Right next to his desk, a black lightly padded chair was tucked against the wall. He rarely met his clients here, but he kept, nonetheless, a chair tucked right next to the filing cabinet just in case. He always kept a large two drawer filing cabinet for all his freelancer contracts. On top, sat two printers; one for when he was printing out designs, the other one for his contracts and copies of bills and expenses.

  
  
Despite previously knocking, Sasuke quickly noticed that his boyfriend was lost in his own little head, hunched over his desk, scribbling away on a large paper. He waited a minute, barely a foot away from the blond, never getting any reaction. Finally, he tapped his foot twice on the floor, making the other young man jumped out of his chair, quickly turning around, surprised to see Sasuke standing there.

“Sas! You’re home.” Naruto relaxed, his eyes glancing down to look at his watch for the time. “You’re really late tonight. Was your meeting with Itachi that bad?” Naruto sat back down, pulling a second chair near to his workstation so Sasuke could at least eat while being comfortable.

“That was postponed to Wednesday instead.” He replied, sitting down on the chair. He slowly continued eating his salad, knowing Naruto would ask more questions.

Naruto frowned. Itachi never liked to postpone anything. “Nothing bad I hope?”

“Manda is moving our schedule 3 weeks ahead of what was originally planned. I’ve managed to temporarily reassign Hinata onto the project, but I need to know what your availability is since you were scheduled to train her this month.”

Naruto leaned back into his chair, grabbing the back of his neck with his left hand. This had a great potential of being problematic. He usually kept his plate clear when he was about to publish one of his books since it could demand last minute changes.

“I can come in this Wednesday if that helps?” He offered. As much as he wanted to help out, he had to leave himself some open time in case something went wrong at Gama. “I’ll let you know if I can give you more as the week goes. Sorry.”

Sasuke finished his salad, placing the bow on the edge of desk. “It’s fine, they just moved faster than we anticipated.” As much as he despised clients who couldn’t keep up with the original planning dates, the few times he had clients move faster was also a pain in the ass. Then again, that’s how the Marketing world works. You always need to be able to move quickly.

“I’m calling it. I’m just tired.” Naruto murmured, pressing the small switch on his desk lamp to close it.

Sasuke figured as much. Whenever Naruto listened to this type of music, it was only because the blond was tired and had trouble focusing on his work. The young Uchiha stood up, walking over to Naruto. He leaned down a little, looking straight into Naruto’s tired eyes before planting a goodnight kiss on the blond’s lips. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to bring a little spark in those blue eyes.

“Let’s get ready for bed then.” Naruto smiled.

* * *

Sasuke was already asleep next to him. Naruto on the other hand, whatever position he tried he just couldn’t sleep at all... He brought his wrist closer looking at the time. It was midnight… He let out a frustrating sigh. What’s the point of going to bed early if you never fall asleep!? Giving up on actually getting any sleep tonight, Naruto slipped out of bed stealthily, making sure not to disturb his sleeping beauty. Sometimes he really hated how Sasuke could fall asleep within 15 minutes.

He grabbed his orange jogging pants and black hoodie, careful not to make a single sound as he exited their bedroom.

He knew Sasuke had another stressful day ahead since he was handing in their monthly report to Itachi. Although he would never admit it, Sasuke stressed about those meetings since Itachi always managed to find the error that slipped by him. They might be family, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be treated any differently, especially since he was a Uchiha.

Once he closed the door behind him, he walked towards his office, flipping the lights on and actually putting on his clothe properly. Last time he did that in the dark everything ended up upside down which Sasuke took advantage of reminding him how much of an idiot he can be.

He settled at his desk, pressing the small desk light.

Usually when he was hit with insomnia he could still manage to draw fairly easily whether it was on his own books or any projects his boss handed him during the month. But tonight, he looked down to his drawing pad, pencil in hand and nothing happened.

_Shit._

He hated nights like these. It felt like a waste of time and he ends up feeling like crap for the next day or two. So he did what he usually does; he reached for the drawer that had his original artwork, taking out a pile of half completed artworks.

Naruto felt a cold shiver run through his entire body. His brain clearly despised him tonight. He just couldn’t shake that damn memory of _that man_. He could only hope it would pass quickly so he can continue as if he never met that monster ever again.

His eyes glanced down to the lower right side of his desk. After a minute of debating with himself he reached down, opening the bottom drawer, moving aside the few folders where he could see a small metal box. It was almost the same size as a shoebox and was covered in black and red stickers. He wanted to reach for it, his fingers so close to actually lifting the lid but he pulled back at the last second.

He shook his head, gritting his teeth almost disgusted with himself.

After all the pain he went through, he still wondered why he kept that damn box to this day.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think is in that box? Still enjoying this story?
> 
> Let me know what you think! ^_^
> 
> Check my profile to see what updates are to come and what I'm working on since I tend to write oneshots or smaller stories in the Narutoverse.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> Ookima


	5. It’s Only A Matter Of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its Wednesday and nothing goes like it should for Naruto whether it’s at Gama Publishing or Uchiha Corporation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for those who took their time to comment as this story continues to progress. 
> 
> Since today is my muse's birthday, I am posting a bit earlier than intended! Happy birthday Dhampir! ^_^  
> 
> 
> _Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it._  
> 

Sasuke groaned as he heard his morning alarm clock ring on. He turned towards the nightstand to turn the damn thing off before laying back on the bed, staring at the white ceiling. Today was Wednesday. He was meeting Itachi at 10 o’clock sharp for their monthly review and performances. He really hated those days. Although he was meeting every criteria, he knew that he needed to be above it.

He slowly brought his hand to his face rub his eyes when he felt something stir next to him. He tilted his head to the left, only to find himself staring back at Naruto’s sleeping face.

_‘So he finally fell asleep.’_ He had woken up in bed around 3 AM only to find the blond missing. Sasuke was used to waking up in the morning mostly alone in bed. Ever since he knew Naruto, the man had a tendency to work during the night or just be hit by bouts of insomnia. Just like last Monday and last night. He figured it was the stress of publishing his third Kurama book. So he was quite happy to see Naruto did manage to come back to bed at some point in the early morning.

He brought his fingers closer to lover’s forehead; pushing aside those blond bangs to better look at his face. The blond actually looked relaxed, at peace. Sasuke couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He loved waking up to his lover next to him, he only wished it was more often.

“Suke..?” Naruto whispered as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking when he found himself staring into those onyx eyes.

Sasuke leaned forward, kissing his forehead before resting his head again against the pillow. “Morning.”

Naruto stretched his arms and legs, slithered closer to Sasuke. He slid a hand around Sasuke’s lower back, pulling him closer until their stomach touched. He leaned in, capturing Sasuke’s lips with his own, pressing hungrily against his lover. Sasuke followed suit, slipping his hand on Naruto’s tattooed shoulder, his fingertips tracing the tribal marks down to his elbow. Naruto moved his hips ups, brushing his clearly hardened length against Sasuke’s own, eliciting a low growl from his lover. Their lips parted, their breathing rapidly increasing at the friction of their still clothed cocks mutually sliding against one another.

“Oh… Sasuke…” Naruto moaned out, closing his eyes and just riding out the continuous waves of pleasure he felt at the moment.

Having his name moaned out in such an exotic way this morning, Sasuke pushed Naruto onto his back quickly sliding those annoying boxers off his hips, discarded his own soon after. Sasuke carefully kneeled on the bed between Naruto’s parted legs before wrapping his fingers around the blond’s cock, mimicking the same friction from earlier. He looked down, Naruto just laid there naked, his right hand and wrist trying to cover his eyes and blush of having Sasuke look at him, devouring him with his onyx eyes.

Maybe he’d come in later after all.

* * *

Dressed in his usual white shirt, dark red tie, black jacket and pants, Sasuke opened the door of his office only to find his older brother sitting in the guest chair. Itachi sat comfortably, one leg over the other, his laptop opened on top of free desk space that was available. Sasuke deducted his older brother probably caught up on some work while he was waiting for him to get here.

“You’re early.” Sasuke said, walking around his desk to sit down on his chair. He double-checked the clock on his desktop computer screen; clearly indicating it was only 9:00 AM.

“My previous engagement cancelled.” Itachi deadpanned.

Sasuke grabbed the top folder from the right side pile on his desk. These were last month’s projection numbers and now they could compare with the new contracts they signed to see if they matched at least the minimum revenue that was intended.

“You outdid yourself Sasuke.” Itachi rarely gave praise, but the numbers weren’t lying. He couldn’t be more proud of how Sasuke pushed through despite the pressure he was under and also to please their father. Although their father had left the future of the company within Itachi’s hands, he still checked in from time to time and always made sure to give _his opinion_ , whether it was wanted or not.

“By securing the Manda contract for the next 3 years, this department is at least covering the monthly costs of operation. We also have more than a dozen contracts with smaller businesses for the next 6 months and have another dozen meetings planned for the next 2 weeks.”

“How did you find the man behind Manda Corporation?” Itachi asked, curious of his little brother’s impression of the older man. He only knew Orochimaru for what was mentioned in the business world and the private investigation report they had from Suigetsu.

Sasuke leaned back into his chair relaxed as he brought his hands in front of him, his fingers entangled.

“He’s… _different_.” Sasuke found himself unsure at how to exactly describe Orochimaru. There was no doubt the man was brilliant and knew what he wanted business wise, but there was still this strange aura around him that made Sasuke uneasy.

Itachi frowned. That was an odd way to describe this Orochimaru gentleman.

“I’m already rearranging our schedules since he wants to push ahead faster than what was initially planned.” Sasuke shared.

“Seeing he’s in the hotel industry I am not surprised. Right now they are in the low season. It’s the best time for them to prepare for the high season when summer comes around the corner.” Itachi shared. “However be sure to adjust his billing accordingly. His contract stipulated that it was suppose to start on May 14th.”

“Neji informed him. He apparently doesn’t mind.”

“Is Naruto fine with this change?” Itachi wasn’t against Naruto working for them as an external aid; he did have a problem that he was directly tied to Sasuke. He didn’t like his employees having personal relationships because when things went south, the workplace was affected. He wasn’t thrilled when Sasuke informed him about the Wanatabe contract but he had to give Naruto credit for his professionalism when he saw the blond in the building, clearly showing no indication to others that he was in fact Sasuke’s boyfriend.

“He was only available this afternoon for a debrief. He’ll keep me and Neji updated on his availability and we’ll work it from there.” Sasuke answered carefully. He knew it wasn’t the answer Itachi wanted, but he couldn’t lie either. He knew that whatever spare time Naruto would have in the next 2-3 weeks, he’d give it without hesitation to this project. Naruto wasn’t the type to give the minimum; he always gave his best whatever the project.

“This contract is important Sasuke.” Itachi reminded his little brother. Which pretty much translated into _don’t fuck it up_.

“Was there anything else you wanted to talk about Itachi?” Sasuke snorted. He had other things to do in his day, like his meeting with Orochimaru this afternoon.

“Since you outdid yourself with last month’s prediction, let’s see how you plan to do for this month.” Itachi leaned forward to access their reports on the company’s servers.

“Hn.”

* * *

Getting out of the shower, Naruto tightly wrapped his orange towel against his waist when he heard his cellphone ringing. The annoying tone of frogs croaking gave away the identity of the caller, his boss Jiraiya. He walked over to the bathroom vanity, picking up his phone before placing it against his ear.

**_“Good morning Naruto. I hope I didn’t wake you.” Jiraiya spoke on the other end of the phone._ **

“Nah I was already awake. So why the call? We already spoke 2 days ago.” Naruto wondered. Unless there was an issue with the upcoming release of his book, they wouldn’t have to talk until next week’s meeting.

**_“I know you asked for some time off for the next month, but I need you urgently on a project. Can you come in for a quick debrief this morning?”_ **

Naruto looked at his reflection in the mirror, his eyes glaring right back at him. He had asked Jiraiya in advance for time off specifically to help out Sasuke.

“I can come by the office in the next hour, but I’m needed elsewhere this afternoon.”

**_“Perfect, it shouldn’t take long. You’ll be working with Shino on this one anyway.”_ **

Naruto frowned. Shino? Wasn’t he supposed to be working on proofreading his book for next week? If Jiraiya pulled both himself and Shino for this project, this wasn’t a small project, it was something big and if it was big that meant it would most likely affect the time he would have for Sasuke’s project.

“I’ll see you later.” He said calmly, placing his phone next to the sink. He placed his hands face down on the edge of the bathroom vanity, leaning his body forward closer to the large mirror. As he stared into his blue eyes, he couldn’t help but feel that today wasn’t going to be a good day after all.

* * *

Naruto had thought this was something big for Jiraiya to ask him to come back in, but he didn’t expect this…

“So you screwed up?” Naruto let out, exasperated by the old man sitting right across the table from himself and Shino.

“I wouldn’t exactly phrase it like that…” The man failed miserably at arguing his point. Seeing as how he had just informed the duo that they were temporarily reassigned on the project with only 7 days to spare, he could understand their reluctance to be happy.

Naruto glanced over to the dark bushy brown haired man who glanced right back from behind his sunglasses. They clearly shared the same opinion at the moment. Shino was never one to express himself much in life, but even he seemed annoyed by the current situation.

“You should have given us that project at the beginning instead of assigning it to the new Manga Artist just because you wanted to get in her pants.” Naruto snapped. He couldn’t care less how it sounded out loud since it was the truth. Jiraiya always had a weakness for blond women. Generally Naruto and Shino didn’t give a damn, he’s the boss he can chase any skirt he wants, but when it impacted their workload, that’s where they drew the line.

Jiraiya shot him a glare. “Naruto. I’m still your boss.” He reminded the blond.

“Naruto is right. Please give us these important projects in the future. This way, situations like today won’t happen again.” Shino spoke calmly from behind his tinted glasses.

Jiraiya frowned. It was rare for Shino to speak up, much less openly put him in his place in such a polite way. The older sighed, knowing that as much as he hated being called on his own bullshit, but the pair was right.

“Shino. Naruto. Please work on this urgently. All other projects you’ve been assigned will be on hold until we complete this one accordingly.”

“What about Naruto’s book?” Shino asked. After all he was the person assigned to finish setting it up and coordinate with the publishing house to go into mass printing for next week.

Jiraiya massaged his temples, knowing what he had promised Naruto. This setback would not please his employee one bit. “On hiatus until this project is done. I’ll call the printing company to explain and pay the penalty.” It was the least he could do. He didn’t want to admit, but it was his fuck-up that led to this problem. “I’m sorry Naruto.”

Looking at Jiraiya, the blond couldn’t really hold that against him. The old man had given him a sincere apology, which was something very rare for him to do. “It’s fine, 2 weeks delay won’t change that it’s going to be a best seller again.” He did enjoy the extra money it would bring in, but he wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck like many Manga Artists in the domain. Still, it sucked.

Shino nodded, pulling his chair back as he stood up. “I’ll get on it then.”

With the meeting adjourned, Shino walked out, already calculating in his head how to arrange his work schedule to take on this last minute project. It left Naruto and Jiraiya alone in the small meeting room. The tension in the air could easily be cut with a knife.

“While I think about it – “ Jiraiya opened his agenda, taking out a small white envelope and handed it over to Naruto. “I know you’re seeing Gaara tomorrow to finalize the 5th volume of Crimson Samurai series. Here’s his bonus for last month’s work.”

Naruto took the envelope, shoving it in his small bag. “Is he aware of the project you just shoved onto us?” Naruto said bitterly. Normally he was able to remain objective and positive but the fact that his boss still chose to ignore his recommendation concerning that ex-employee, really annoyed him since now he was left with picking up the pieces when he was already booked for other projects.

“Come on Naruto.” Jiraiya sighed. It was rare to see his employee this displeased. “I’ve called him this morning, he knows you’ll be debriefing him for the details tomorrow.”

“You better give us bonuses for still making that deadline.” Naruto let out. All three of them were his best employees, but still they shouldn’t pay for his fuck-ups because he had other motives at the time.

“So you think you can make it?” Jiraiya’s interest was peaked. He knew it was last minute if they wanted to make the printing schedule. Despite having full confidence in his dream team as he called them, it was a near impossible task to accomplish in such a little amount of time that was left.

“You pay us double for this project and we’ll meet your original deadline.” Naruto countered. They had the skill, might as well cash in on it at least. Plus he knew Shino and Gaara wouldn’t mind the extra cash.

Jiraiya scoffed. He’d forgotten how Naruto could be relentless in these types of situations. “Fine, meet the deadline and you’ll all be paid double.” Sometimes he really hated the brat.

Naruto looked down to his watch on his left wrist, noticing the time, he knew he had another appointment to go to for the afternoon. He just needed to cool off before actually getting there.

* * *

Naruto was still furious about the whole situation.

He figured walking all the way to Uchiha Corporation would at least get him some fresh air and with any luck maybe calm his anger. He tapped his foot on the floor as he waited for the elevator doors to open on the Marketing floor. When he heard the _‘ding’_ sound, the doors slide to each side and he found himself face to face with the person he was meeting this afternoon.

“H-Hello U-Uzumaki-san.” She shyly spoke his name, struggling to hold all the folders and the laptop in her arms. Seeing that everything was about to fall over, Naruto reached out, grabbing the excess paperwork from her hands.

“Hi.” He smiled at her softly. Somehow seeing her face, although flushed, he couldn’t help but let go of his negative emotions he’d harboured in the past hour. “Are we setting up in the Conference Room?”

Hinata nodded, grateful for his helping hand. She really didn’t understand why she didn’t just put everything in a box and carry that to the Conference Room. With Naruto’s help, they quickly settled everything on the large table while Hinata opened the large screen that hung at the end of the table, wirelessly connecting it to her laptop.

“Are you nervous about taking on this project completely?” Naruto asked, taking his place in one of the chairs. Initially Hinata’s role in the company was programming the MAAS (Marketing Automation Application Software) project and later it would be an add-on service to client interested in exploiting it. Although they were in the final stages, they still needed to write the procedures and create a variety of email templates among other things.

“It’s… Y-yeah... But I’m a-also excited f-for the o-opportunity.”

He smiled at her response. It was good for employees to be excited of being part of a big project. Although Hinata was very shy and lacked a lot of self-confidence from what he observed the past 6 months, she could definitely overcome those weaknesses with the right push and help. No one knew this software better than her!

“Shall we look it over then?”

* * *

Naruto was about to walk into the elevator and head back home when he heard his name being called out. He looked over his shoulder to see Neji waving his hand at him.

“I’m glad you’re still here Uzumaki-san.” Normally he would address Naruto by his first name but since they were in plain view of other employees, it was more polite to call him by his last name.

Naruto cocked his head sideways, frowning. “Can I help you?”

“Uchiha-san wanted to see in his office before you left.” Neji told him.

“Okay?” He followed Neji down the hallway all the way back to Sasuke’s closed office door. It wasn’t abnormal but they had an agreement to interact at a bare minimum when he was present in the company due to their personal relationship. And since Hinata had already briefed him there wasn’t really a reason for them to meet.

Neji knocked on the door before opening it quietly. As they walked in, Naruto could see Sasuke was talking another man dressed in a black jacket suit and clean pants. He couldn’t recognize the man immediately but he vaguely remembered seeing someone with long black hair that went all the way down to the middle of his back. He couldn’t explain it, but the closer he moved towards the pair, the more the hair rising on his arms. His palms became sweaty. Why was he so nervous? This wouldn’t be the first time he met a complete stranger. He saw Sasuke’s hand point towards him, the other gentleman turned around almost in slow motion.

A lump caught in his throat, he tried to swallow hoping for it to go away. He felt his heart drop as he recognized clear as day, the pale skin of the man, but what kept his entire attention was the way those eyes looked straight at him, like a predator ready to eat its prey.

“Ah Uzumaki-kun, I do hope you re feeling better since our last _encounter_.” Orochimaru said, smiling at the blond as he extended his hand forward for a friendly handshake. “I’m glad we can talk without being disturbed.”

Naruto just stood there, silent. It was like only him and Orochimaru were present in the office. He didn’t know how long he just stared at the man, but a soft poke in his right ribs snapped him out of his daze. He looked to his side, Neji looking at him with a strange air, almost worried.

“Eh…” He looked down to the floor, closing his eyes for a quick moment as he took a deep breath. When he looked back up, he tried to remain calm and composed despite shivers he felt throughout his body. With Sasuke and Neji present, he couldn’t just runaway like last time. “My apologies for last time, I was… _unwell_.” He reached out, trembling fingers touching the man’s hand, as they shook for a few seconds.

It was a few seconds too much. Naruto could taste the acidotic bile rising in his throat, his lunch probably not far behind. Whatever this was, he needed to get out of this room fast. He noticed that faint sadistic smile rise across the other man’s lip; he couldn’t help but feel more disgusted at the sight. The slender older man finally let go of Naruto’s hand, stepping aside so the blond could see the various designs that had been printed and spread across Sasuke’s desk.

“Uchiha-san has shown previous designs you’ve created for other clients. I must admit your talent impresses me.” Orochimaru walked closer to the desk, grabbing one of the templates and handing it over to Naruto.

Naruto took it in his hands, staring at it. The template was for a small bed & breakfast hotel that wanted to advertise locally since they were also had an orchard on-site which offered many local products. He ended creating more than a dozen design so they could use it on their website, social media and online advertising. So what was a 3 template designs contract ended up being 12 and the client had already signed another contract for the following season because their profits doubled that season.

“I look forward to seeing what you come up with for my hotels.” He took the printed-paper back, but not before the tip of his fingers brushed up against Naruto’s fingers. He got an immediate reaction out of him, the blond’s hand jerked back, taking a step back.

“That’s going to be a challenge seeing how I’ve just learned you chose to accelerate the original planning.” Naruto let out, he found himself quickly under the glare of his boyfriend. He knew it wasn't his place to voice his dissatisfaction but it was the only thing he did have control over right now. Then again, being thrown out of Sasuke’s office wasn’t such a bad idea either.

“Ah, yes I am a man who likes to move quickly when able to.” He grinned, carefully observing the blond in front of him. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“We’ll manage, since you have agreed to pay the additional charges already.” Sasuke interceded, stepping next to Naruto. He didn’t know why Naruto was so off-putting when he was actually the one who would charm the clients. He didn’t understand Naruto’s behaviour right now.

“Orochimaru-sama.”

All heads turned towards the open door where Anko stood, tablet in hand.

“Yes?”

“We seem to be having problem with the property up North. It requires your immediate attention.”

“What did that fool do again.” He groaned, rolling his eyes at the thought of having to go there in person.

She hesitated before answering her boss, seeing as they were there, listening. Normally the man preferred to be much more private about his private problems.

“Anko.” The tone of his voice was the only warning she would get.

“The Conference Room flooded because the water pipes on the 5th and 6th floors busted. Unfortunately this is 24 hours before the Summit Meeting that’s suppose to take place.” She specified.

He chuckled. These types of problems only happened when the timing couldn’t be worse.

“You’ll have your wish then Uzumaki-san. We can postpone to next Monday instead. I cannot delegate the decision of what you’ll be creating to just anyone and with this incident, I won’t be available for the next 5 days.”

“Thank you.” Sasuke let out. He was actually happy of how things turned in their favour even if it was only a few days. He looked over to Naruto, the blond seemed disconnected with the situation. Whatever was troubling him, he was going to get answers once they were alone later.

“Thank you again for meeting with me. I look forward to seeing you all again as the project advances.” Orochimaru leaned forward, before brushing past to follow Anko to their next destination.

With Orochimaru leaving, Neji closed the door behind him, exchanging both a worried yet relieved look concerning the situation at hand.

“Hyuga, would you mind giving us the room?” Sasuke asked him, although it wasn’t a request either.

“Sure.” As Neji closed the door behind him, he could have sworn he saw fear in those blue eyes.

* * *

The ride back home was anything but pleasant. Naruto remained silent, not once speaking or even sparing a look his way. The moment Sasuke parked the car and turned off this engine, Naruto unbuckled his seatbelt and almost bolted out of the car as if his life depended on it. He watched the blond stomp his way to their front door, trying to find the right key to unlock the door. Sasuke walked next to him, sliding in the key, effectively unlocking the doorknob.

“Naruto, what’s wrong?” Sasuke asked, pushing the door ajar. He only heard a grumble as the blond walked right in, not even looking at him.

Sasuke reached out, grabbing Naruto’s shoulder and forcing him to turn around. “What the hell’s wrong with you?” He felt his hand be pushed aside. He didn’t expect to be staring into cold blue eyes.

“You told me the meeting was a debrief with Hinata. So why in the hell didn’t you tell me that you be introducing me to him too?” He shot back, staring angrily at those onyx eyes.

“Him?” Sasuke looked at his boyfriend, puzzled. The only person Naruto met was the Manda president. “You mean Orochimaru?”

Naruto’s lack of response made him think his answer was correct.

“You’re working on his project that belongs to Manda Corporation, which means Orochimaru. It’s only normal for him to want to meet you. I found no harm since he really wanted to speak to you since he didn’t get the chance at the party.” Sasuke let out. He could feel a headache coming. Why was Naruto being such an idiot about this? It’s not like it was the first time he met clients at his workplace. “Besides we can now plan everything for next Monday.”

“That’s not the point bastard!” How could he have not made the connection that Manda Corporation was Orochimaru? He was visibly shaking right now. If he didn’t leave to be alone, he was going to do something he would regret.

“Then what is your point? You’re not being clear here idiot!” Sasuke shot back at the insult.

He took a deep breath, “You should have told me _Orochimaru_ was going to be there.” He seethed with anger not even looking back at him as he slammed the door shut of his office.

Sasuke could only stare at the office door, wondering why Naruto was so pissed off at him when just this morning he couldn’t stop moaning out his name...

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a big angsty and I feel its nicely setting up tone of this story. 
> 
> What are your thoughts about it?
> 
> Thanks again for the the continued support! ^_^
> 
> Ookima

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is officially written and I am proud of it since it’s my first ever AU. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
> 
> I will be adding additional tags as we progress in order to not to spoil a few intended twists coming up.
> 
> As always, comments, kudos hearing from you fellow readers/writers is always fun! It's actually how I connected with my muse in the first place! ^_^
> 
> Till next time!
> 
> Ookima


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